 Born 19 June 1957 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, Treves is the eldest son of actor Frederick Treves and the great-great nephew of Sir Frederick Treves, the surgeon who treated Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man.Educated first at Rokeby School, then King's College School in Wimbledon and finally Birkbeck, University of London, he trained as an actor at the National Youth Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.As an actor, he has played at many of the leading regional British theatres.