He directed all 20 episodes of the BBC surreal comedy series The Mighty Boosh (2004–2007), and in 2005 he earned a British Academy Television Award nomination for Best New Director.

King worked as associate director on the subsequent TV transfer, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a six-part series for Channel 4.

In 2002, King garnered another Perrier Award nomination for directing Noel Fielding's Edinburgh Festival show, "Voodoo Hedgehog".

[13] In a five star review of the film, Robbie Collin of The Telegraph writes, "King’s Wonka plonks itself squarely in that very British tradition of surreal escapades with a satirical kick.

Long before the Boosh came Not the Nine O'Clock News (whose famous gorilla joke makes a cameo of sorts), then the Pythons — and before them all The Goon Show, of which Wonka often feels like a feature-length episode.