After serving in the British Army and operating a business in Southend, Booth trained at RADA and then acted on stage at the Old Vic. He first came to prominence as a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in 1959, appearing in "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be". Booth subsequently joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared on screen from 1960, specialising in either happy-go-lucky, or embittered, cockney roles. He also pursued a successful career in the U.S. as a screenwriter and script doctor, after the collapse of his property business in 1976 left him bankrupt.