Brierley twice appeared in Doctor Who, as Trevor in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965) and as the voice of Drathro in The Mysterious Planet (1986).

Brierley played the part of Osborne in the 1977 episode "Suddenly At Home" in the TV series Rising Damp.

Brierley portrayed Michael Palin's Latin teacher in a 1979 episode of Ripping Yarns entitled Roger of the Raj.

In 1988 he appeared with Palin and John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda as Archie Leach's secretary, Davidson.

Brierley'a later work also included portraying John Biffen in the TV dramatisation of The Alan Clark Diaries (2004).