In 1981, Nettles won the role that made him a household name in the UK, that of Jim Bergerac in the Jersey-set crime drama Bergerac. This ran for 87 episodes until 1991. Following the end of Bergerac Nettles did five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in The Winter's Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Richard III and The Devil is an Ass. In 1992, he appeared in an episode of Boon, and in 1993 appeared as Jim Bergerac in the spoof police comedy The Detectives.