He appeared as the founder of the eponymous ghost hiring agency in the BBC children's comedy series Rentaghost and as Sid Abbott's neighbour Trevor, in the sitcom Bless This House.

He studied at Rose Bruford College and in 1965 joined the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carleton Hobbs Bursary.

Jackson played the part of The Tale Bearer (a narrator not included in the original story) in the 1968 BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

In his final years, he appeared in The Bill, Casualty, Footballers' Wives, Walker Texas Ranger and Doctors.

Jackson died of cancer in London on 26 November 2006,[6] having been ill during rehearsals of Waiting for Godot whilst the company was touring in Ireland.