Aldridge started his acting career in August 1939 at the
Palace Theatre, Watford, appearing in
Terence Rattigan's play
French Without Tears. A few days later,
World War II broke out. From 1939 to 1940, he was in
rep at
Bristol,
Blackpool,
Sunderland,
Sheffield,
Bradford and
Amersham. In 1940, he joined the
Royal Air Force and served in Africa, the United States, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, leaving the service in 1945 as a
flight lieutenant. After the war, Aldridge returned to acting, and toured with the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company from 1946 to 1948, but it was not until 1954 that his career started to gain him recognition, when he took a role in
Salad Days at the
Vaudeville Theatre, where he remained until 1957. He played many roles in musicals throughout his career, usually in supporting roles in which he was highly reliable and professional.
Theatre Aldridge's first professional appearance was in the part of Kenneth in
French without Tears, at the Palace Theatre, Watford, in August 1939. He was in rep until 1940. His first
West End appearance was in
This Way to the Tomb, playing the Prologue and the Mechanic, at the
Garrick Theatre, 1946; toured with the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company from November 1946 to July 1948; appeared in Nottingham Theatre Trust productions from November 1948 to March 1949, playing Othello in
Othello at Nottingham, 1948, and at the
Embassy Theatre, 1949; with
Birmingham rep, 1949; Old Vic Company at New Theatre, 1949-1950: ''
Love's Labour's Lost, She Stoops to Conquer, The Miser, Hamlet; returned to Arts Council Midland Theatre Company, 1950; Bristol Old Vic, 1951-1952: played Macbeth in Macbeth, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Of Mice and Men; Escapade'', at
St James's Theatre, Strand, London, 1953–1954;
Salad Days,
Vaudeville Theatre, 1954;
Free as Air,
Savoy Theatre, 1957;
A Moon for the Misbegotten, Arts Theatre, 1960;
Vanity Fair, Queen's Theatre, 1962;
The Fighting Cock,
Duke of York's Theatre, 1966; at
Chichester Festival, 1966–1969, and 1971–1972.
Heartbreak House,
Lyric Theatre, 1967;
The Cocktail Party,
Wyndham's Theatre, Haymarket, 1968;
The Magistrate,
Cambridge, 1969;
A Bequest to the Nation, Haymarket, 1970;
Reunion in Vienna, Piccadilly, 1972;
Absurd Person Singular,
Criterion Theatre, 1973;
The Tempest,
Royal Shakespeare Company at
The Other Place, 1974;
Jeeves,
Her Majesty's Theatre, 1975;
Lies,
Albery Theatre, 1975;
The Bed before Yesterday,
Lyric Theatre, 1976;
Rosmersholm, Haymarket, 1977;
The Old Country, Queen's Theatre, 1978;
Bedroom Farce,
National Theatre at The Prince of Wales, 1978;
The Last of Mrs Cheyney, Cambridge, 1980;
Noises Off, Lyric, Hammersmith and Savoy, 1982;
The Biko Inquest, Riverside, 1984;
Relatively Speaking,
Greenwich, 1986. He played the part of Rollo in the 1977 serial
Love for Lydia, produced by
London Weekend Television. He played Percy Alleline in
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on BBC TV in 1979, Sir Basil in the 6th episode “Neck” of 1st series of Anglia Television's Tales of the Unexpected first aired on ITV in the same year and appeared in the
sitcom Yes, Prime Minister, in the episode "One of US". In 1980, he played the role of Matthew Radlett, Lord Alconleigh, in the television miniseries
Love in a Cold Climate -
Simon Raven's adaptation of the
Nancy Mitford novels
Love in a Cold Climate and the
Pursuit of Love for Thames Television. Between 1986 and 1990, he starred as Seymour Utterthwaite in
Last of the Summer Wine. The character was an ex-headmaster and inventor, designed to replace the
Foggy Dewhurst character played by
Brian Wilde, who had left the series. Aldridge's wishing to retire to nurse his sick wife coincided with Wilde's deciding to return to the show, so Aldridge's character was written out. Aldridge played the elderly professor
Digory Kirke in the television version of
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1988. His obituary in
The Times said, ==Personal life==