- Trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, whose alumni include Antony Sher, Terence Stamp, Julia Ormond, Rupert Friend, Angela Lansbury, Daniel Hunt, Matthew Goode, Sue Johnston, Minnie Driver, Steven Berkoff and Julian Fellowes.
- After his national service in the Royal Air Force, he worked as a steward with P&O, where he saved enough money to attend drama school.
- By 1995, Treacher had requested to be written out of the series EastEnders, stating: "By the time I finished, even the sound of the theme music was making me feel ill. I felt depressed." He also stated in a 2003 BBC documentary interviewing past stars of the show that he felt "compelled" to leave with advancing age. He said the stress of a gruelling schedule working long hours on the show was affecting his health and that doctors told him that if he did not leave the job soon and relax it would kill him.
- In a statement announcing his death, his family confirmed that Treacher's health had been deteriorating for some time.
- In 2015, Treacher told the press that he suffered from ataxia, a degenerative disease that hinders balance and the ability to walk. Treacher said that as a result of this he had fully retired and he sometimes had to rely on a wheelchair for mobility. He also said that he no longer watched EastEnders, calling it "a load of old rubbish these days".
- In 1984, he was a Beefeater in the Tower of London to Paul Hogan's tourist in a British television commercial for Foster's Lager.
- Treacher was the first actor to be cast in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985 as Arthur Fowler, a role he played for the next eleven years.
- In his youth worked as a porter at Waltham Cross station.
- Treacher was also an accomplished radio actor and appeared in a BBC Radio 4 Play of the day, "Bringing Eddie Home" by John Peacock, based on a true story of the fight by East End couple Edna and Jack Wallace to get their son's body brought home from Aden, and the ensuing fight for the rights of British service personnel. Treacher played the role of the older Jack Wallace and the play also included other ex EastEnders actors Tilly Vosburgh, Edna Doré, Todd Carty and Joe Absolom.
- After graduating from the prestigious Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his West End debut in 1963 with the comedy Shout for Life at The Vaudeville Theatre.
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