​A British actor of stage, film and television, he is known as a particularly versatile character actor.

He trained at Bradford Civic Theatre school and has extensive stage experience. On television, he played Toby Esterhase in the BBC Television adaptations of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People. He also played the Kommandant in Colditz (1972–74), and later appeared for the same production team as Albert Foiret in three seasons of Secret Army (1977–79). Other notable performances included Thomas Cranmer in both The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) and Elizabeth R (1971).

His appearances in feature film have been less frequent. He made a brief appearance as Thorpey, a gangster, in the classic British film Get Carter (1971), and another small role as Milton Goldsmith in Voyage of the Damned (1976).