During this period Betts was enjoying success on the London fringe at the Battersea Arts Centre with plays like Incarcerator, a drama in rhyming couplets and The Biggleswades at the White Bear Theatre Club.

The Independent said "his screenplay for this engaging, quintessentially British road/rambling movie combines knockabout comedy with surprisingly bleak observations.

His political tragi-comedy (The National Joke), directed by Henry Bell, played in rep at the Stephen Joseph Theatre over the summer of 2016.

It starred Janie Dee, Patrick Ryecart, Jack Archer, Charlie Brooks and Genevieve Gaunt.

A second UK tour of the play (revised and retitled as Caroline's Kitchen) took place in the first half of 2019 before taking part in the Brits-off-Broadway Festival.

His online play Apollo 13: The Dark Side of the Moon, starring Tom Chambers, began streaming in October 2020.

He plays Oliver in the film version of Invincible, alongside Laura Howard, Samantha Seager and Daniel Copeland.

Betts' play, Murder in the Dark, is toured the UK from September 2023 for six months, starring Tom Chambers.