[4] After a season at the Chichester Festival Theatre under John Clements, in 1972, he became a founding member of The Actors Company along with Ian McKellen and Edward Petherbridge,[5][6][7][8] appearing in many of their productions including the 1973 show, Ruling the Roost and the 1974 tour of The Way of the World as Witwoud.
[9][10][11] In 1974, he returned to the Mermaid Theatre in George Bernard Shaw's play Misalliance, for which he won the Clarence Derwent Award for the best supporting performance on the London stage in that year.
[12] Further stage appearances were in Betzi at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, the 1980 season at the Old Vic with Peter O'Toole as Macbeth[13] and The School for Scandal with Donald Sinden at the Duke of York's and subsequent European tour.
[14] As a theatre director, he has taken two shows to the Edinburgh Festival - Reynard the Fox in 1985 (also shown at the Young Vic)[15][16] and One Fine Day in 1986.
[25] Also in 1975 he appeared in The Sweeney episode Supersnout in which he played Joey Stickley, a dirty and weaselly informant who conspires to ruin the reputation of Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Quirk of the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad.
[25][28] Tordoff had a recurring role as policeman Brian Tofkin in the John Sullivan comedy Citizen Smith.
Other appearances include Doctor Who as Alec Leeson in the 6 part serial Colony in Space,[32] Catweazle,[33] Rumpole of the Bailey (episode Rumpole and the Heavy Brigade), Sherlock Holmes American TV movie Hands of a murderer,[34] The Gaffer (episode There Goes the Bride), Sharpe's Siege[35] and Merlin.