Orchard was educated at Shrewsbury School and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He appeared as the flamboyant Duke of Montague, a cousin of Prince Edward, in the Cinderella film, The Slipper and the Rose (1976). He had a regular slot on Spike Milligan's The World of Beachcomber, a TV version of the "Beachcomber" pieces by J. B. Morton, appearing as the poet Roland Milk. His customary role was that of a gangling and effete – and sometimes effeminate – dandy. He played Snodgrass in the TV musical Pickwick for the BBC in 1969, and appeared in several of the comedy Carry On films and the sex comedy Adventures of a Private Eye (1977).[3] He appeared on BBC television as the "Minister for the Arts" in the episode of The Goodies entitled "Culture for the Masses"; and as one of the "mechanicals" in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He played teacher Mr Oliver Pettigrew in the TV series Whack-O! in 1971 (the role having been created by Arthur Howard in 1956–60). He played Cornelius Button in the 1971 London Weekend Television children's serial Grasshopper Island as an eccentric grasshopper expert who had lived on Grasshopper Island for many years.

The London Connection

On the Beat

The Goodies

A Stitch in Time

The Slipper and the Rose

Don't Lose Your Head

Carry On Doctor

ピンク・パンサー4

Bless This House

Perfect Friday

Carry On Henry

The Prince and the Pauper

Anoop and the Elephant

Three on a Spree

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

Crooks Anonymous

Follow That Camel

That's Carry On!

Father Came Too!

Futtocks End

Stranger in the House

Kill or Cure

BBC Play of the Month

Man About the House

Cucumber Castle

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

Adventures of a Private Eye

The Great Van Robbery

Keep It Up Downstairs

The Nine Ages of Nakedness

Operation Stogie

Pickwick

The Magnificent Six and ½: It's Not Cricket

Iolanthe

Ooh La La!

Whack-O!