Born in Salford 1974. Hitchen trained in ballet, musical theatre and played numerous stage roles at his local youth theatre group. He returned to acting aged 41 after working as a plumber for over 20 years. He finally got his big break when he played the lead role in Ken Loach's BAFTA nominated " Sorry We Missed You" which earned Hitchen a BIFA nomination for best actor. He has since gone on to star in numerous leading roles on TV and Film.