In 1994, Lincoln made his first on-screen appearance in "Births and Deaths", an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom "Drop the Dead Donkey". In 1995, soon after finishing drama school, he made his breakthrough with his first major role playing Edgar "Egg" Cook, one of the leading characters in the acclaimed BBC drama "This Life". He went on to star in a number of British television series and dramas such as "The Woman in White", "The Canterbury Tales", and "Wuthering Heights", most notably as probationary teacher Simon Casey in the successful Channel 4 sitcom "Teachers". He also had a lead role as university lecturer and psychologist Robert Bridge in "Afterlife", and starred in the Sky 1 series "Strike Back" with Richard Armitage in 2010.