He played Samwise Gamgee in the 1981 BBC Radio dramatisation of "The Lord of the Rings" (where he was credited as William Nighy), and appeared in the 1980s BBC Radio versions of "Yes Minister" episodes. He starred with Stephen Moore and Lesley Sharp in the acclaimed short radio drama "Kerton's Story", written by James Woolf and first aired in 1996. He had a starring role in the 2002 return of "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", portraying crooked politician Jeffrey Grainger. He has also made a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4 series "Baldi".