Fforde was born on 11 January, 1961. His father was John Standish Fforde, the 24th Chief Cashier for the Bank of England (whose signature used to appear on sterling banknotes). He is the cousin of the author Katie Fforde.
Fforde was educated at the progressive Dartington Hall School, and his early career was spent as a focus puller in the film industry, where he worked on a number of films, including Quills, GoldenEye, and Entrapment