He has also appeared as the McKendrick twins in One Foot in the Grave, and in Doctor Who played the Mentor Kiv in Trial of a Time Lord in 1986 and Sontaran General Staal in 2008 and 2010.

He was a last-minute replacement for Peter Richardson, for whom the "straight man" role of "Mike The Cool Person" was originally intended.

He played Lucky in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the Queen's Theatre in the West End in 1991, alongside Mayall and Edmondson.

[3] He later played Dave Hedgehog in Bottom, and Marshall Turtle, one of Edina's unloved ex-husbands, on Absolutely Fabulous.

Ryan starred as Baron Hardup in the pantomime of Cinderella at the Theatre Royal, Norwich from 17 December 2013 to 19 January 2014.