In 2001, he appeared as Ebeneezer Scrooge in a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London.
He is best known for his role as Sergeant Bob Cryer in the long-running ITV drama The Bill, which he portrayed for twenty years from the show's inception in 1984; his television work has also included Shōgun, Victoria Wood As Seen on TV, Play for Today, Juliet Bravo, Made in Britain, Open All Hours, Games Without Frontiers, P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang, Shoestring, Casualty and Holby City.
In 2010, it was announced that Richard was to appear in the stage version of Lark Rise to Candleford which was on a nationwide tour at the time.
His two-month-old grandson, Charlie Smith, was the youngest known British victim of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
It was written and directed by Benjamin Cleary and produced by Serena Armitage and Shan Christopher Ogilvie.