Keith Dewhurst was born in Oldham in 1931, attended Rydal School in Colwyn Bay and studied English at Peterhouse, Cambridge. As a journalist he was the Manchester United correspondent for the Manchester Evening Chronicle from 1955 to 1959 and an arts columnist for The Guardian in the 1960s and 70s. He has written extensively for stage and screen producing a large collection of scripts, screenplays and adaptations from the 1950s up to the 2010s. He has written eighteen plays, six of which were premiered by the National Theatre and three by the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. Notable productions include The Bomb in Brewery Street, Lark Rise and Don Quixote. His television and film work includes Z Cars and Land Girls and as an author he has produced a number of books, including two noteworthy publications on the subject of football; When You Put on a Red Shirt and Underdogs.

Keith was married actress and poet Eve Pearce from 1958 to 1980, and they had three children together.