| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 1994 | Drop the Dead Donkey | Terry | Episode: "Births and Deaths" | |
| 1995 | N7 | Andy | Television film (unaired pilot) | |
| 1996 | Over Here | Cappy | 2 episodes | |
| Bramwell | Martin Fredericks | Episode: "The Return of the Betrayer" | |
| 1996–1997 | This Life | Edgar "Egg" Cooke | 32 episodes | |
| 1997 | The Woman in White | Walter Hartright | Mini-series; 2 episodes | |
| 1999 | Mersey Blues | Himself - Narrator | Documentary series; 5 episodes | |
| 2000 | Bomber | Capt. Willy Byrne | Television film | |
| A Likeness in Stone | Richard Kirschman | |
| 2000–2001 | Shipwrecked | Narrator (voice) | 27 episodes | |
| 2001–2003 | Teachers | Simon Casey | 20 episodes; also directed 2 episodes | |
| 2003 | State of Mind | Julian Latimer | Television film | |
| Trevor's World of Sport | Mark Boden | Episode | |
| Canterbury Tales | Alan King | Mini-series; episode 6: "The Man of Law's Tale" | |
| 2004 | Holby City | Boyfriend to Hep C Patient | Episode: "Letting Go" (uncredited role) | |
| Whose Baby? | Barry Flint | Television film | |
| Lie with Me | DI Will Tomlinson | 2 episodes | |
| 2005–2006 | Afterlife | Robert Bridge | 14 episodes | |
| 2007 | This Life + 10 | Edgar "Egg" Cooke | Television special | |
| 2008 | The Things I Haven't Told You | DC Rae | Television film | |
| Play or Be Played | Joe | |
| 2009 | Wuthering Heights | Edgar Linton | Mini-series; 2 episodes: "Parts 1 & 2" | |
| Moonshot | Michael Collins | Television film | |
| 2010 | Strike Back | Hugh Collinson | 6 episodes | |
| 2010–2018, 2022 | The Walking Dead | Rick Grimes | 120 episodes | |
| 2011 | Dispatches | Himself - Narrator | Documentary series; episode: "Secret NHS Diaries" | |
| 2014 | Tigers About the House | Narrator (voice) | 4 episodes | |
| 2017 | Red Nose Day Actually | Mark | Television short for Red Nose Day 2017 | |
| Robot Chicken | Rick Grimes (voice) | Episode: "The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking" | |
| 2018 | Fear the Walking Dead | Rick Grimes | Episode: "What's Your Story?" | |
| 2022 | Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities | Edgar Bradley | Episode: "The Murmuring" | |
| 2024 | The Walking Dead: The Return | Himself | TV special; also executive producer | |
| The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live | Rick Grimes | Mini-series; 6 episodes, also executive producer and co-creator | |
| 2025 | Coldwater | John | 6 episodes; also executive producer | |
