In 1989, Whitrow appeared in episode four of the BBC Two sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie (series one), playing an irate member of the audience who claimed that Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie had stolen several of their sketches from him.

Between 1990 and 1992, Whitrow appeared in the sitcom The New Statesman as Paddy O'Rourke, a Labour shadow minister who feigned an Irish accent when in public to attract the working-class vote.

Whitrow was nominated for a BAFTA for his portrayal of Mr Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. He has a son, Angus, by actress Celia Imrie.

In the year 2000, in the successful animated movie Chicken Run. Whitrow voiced the character of Fowler; an old rooster who claims to have fought in World War II.