Clayton has portrayed various villains in productions, which he joked may be because of his eyes or hair. In January 2018, it was reported that Clayton would portray
Josh Tucker in the British soap opera
Coronation Street as part of a
male rape storyline. Clayton had watched the soap opera when he was younger, adding, "When I look back at old videos of when I was younger at Christmas, you can hear the theme tune being played in the background!" For his role as Josh, Clayton was longlisted for "Best Bad Boy" at the 2018
Inside Soap Awards. Laura Morgan from
Digital Spy assumed that Clayton's
Coronation Street role would throw him "into the spotlight", adding, "what a way to begin your career". Clayton called being on the soap an "honour", adding on social media, "Feeling so grateful & blessed - From being apart of this storyline/ working with such talented & sound people/ All the kind words & support from loved ones & complete strangers. It's meant the world to me". He returned for another stint in 2019, with his return airing in October of that year. Clayton was watching a film about Manchester City at the cinema when he got the call to return, and he thought it was "really nice" to be asked for another stint. In February 2022, it was reported that Clayton would join the cast of the
new series of
Waterloo Road. He played police sergeant Mike Rutherford, which he continued to play into the show's
16th season in 2025. Of joining the show, Clayton explained that he felt that he needed to be part of it as he is from Manchester and the show was returning to Manchester; he added, "everyone is just lovely, there's a great vibe to just the place itself so I think the audiences are going to love it". He believed that the show was "capturing that essence" of being in a Manchester school as it reminded him of what people were like when he was in school. In January 2026, it was announced that Clayton had joined the cast of the soap opera
Hollyoaks as
Jenson Cole. He was introduced as a love interest for established character
Mercedes McQueen (
Jennifer Metcalfe), who he meets at a rehabilitation facility. ==Filmography==