Alex Tetteh-Lartey was born in Ghana and graduated with a BA (Hons) in English at the University of Ghana. His biography in the Nottingham Playhouse programme states that he "taught at Achimota School and performed in student, undergrad and staff productions of Shakespeare and Russian plays and Gilbert and Sullivan operas." Tetteh-Lartey came to the UK in 1964 to study Law and graduated with an LLB and was called to the Bar in 1973. While studying, he was a part-time broadcaster at Bush House, where the BBC World Service was then located. The Nottingham programme also mentions that since 1965 "he has regularly broadcast on radios 3 and 4 and for the World Service and has been a presenter of the World Service programme Arts and Africa since 1975."He understudied the part of Joseph in Mike Ockrent's production of Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine (starring Dame Peggy Ashcroft) at the National Theatre in 1980.