Born the son of a coal miner, Gary Bell QC left school without any qualifications and drifted in and out of a number of jobs before being convicted of fraud aged eighteen. He then spent two years penniless and homeless in Europe, before returning to his studies aged twenty-one and, after seven years, became a barrister. He has spent the last thirty years at the Bar, becoming a QC in 2012. He specialises in defending major fraud and murder trials.