[1][2] In 2019, he played Tim Collins in Ackley Bridge and Dr. McKenzie in the Dave sitcom Porters.

Atherton grew up in the Cumbrian village of Talkin and attended Austin Friars School in nearby Carlisle.

[2] On television, Atherton played the serial killer Will Savage in Hollyoaks from 2011 to 2015 and joined the cast of Coronation Street as Jamie Bowman in October 2015.

[1][4][5][6] In January 2019, he appeared as Keiran in "Blindspot", an episode of the ITV crime drama Vera.

Later that year, he appeared in the third series of Ackley Bridge as Tim Collins.