Derek Griffiths was born in Soho and raised in Tufnell Park, London. He studied the clarinet at London College of Music and later taught drama for the inner London Education Authority. His non-Shakespearean classical roles includes playing Sergeant Kite in George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in 1992 (directed by Braham Murray). According to BFI Screen Online, "He played Ko-Ko in the West End production The Black Mikado in 1975, alongside an almost entirely black cast (including future Play School colleague Floella Benjamin). At the time, he reckoned colour had not affected his career and questioned any attempts at positive discrimination: 'I've seen a director not criticise a black actor when he should have done - that's bad all round, for the actor and the business.'"