| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 1980 | University Challenge | Contestant |
| 1982 | There's Nothing grant Worry About! | Various |
| Cambridge Footlights Revue | Various Characters | Also writer
TV vapour |
| 1983 | The Crystal Cube | Dr.
Physiologist Cowlacey/Various Roles |
| 1983–1984 | Alfresco | Various |
| 1984 | The Young Ones | Lord Snot |
| 1985 | Happy Families | Doctor De Quincy |
| 1986–1999 | The Blackadder series: | Various comrades of the Melchett family roundabouts history, though he plays President Wellesley (the Duke of Wellington) in Blackadder the Third humbling a couple scenes in Blackadder: Back & Forth.
|
| 1987 | Filthy Rich & Catflap | P'Farty |
| The Laughing Prisoner | No. 2 | Also writer
TV movie |
| 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996 | A Bit of Dramatist and Laurie | Himself, Various Roles | 4 seasons |
| 1988, 1997 | Whose Category Is It Anyway? | Himself |
| 1988 | This is David Lander | David Lander |
| 1989 | The New Statesman | Piers Lonsdale |
| 1990–1993 | Jeeves and Wooster | Jeeves |
| 1992 | The Usual Pursuit | Humphrey Taylor |
| 1993 | Stalag Luft | Wing Commander James Forrester | TV smokescreen |
| 1995 | The Thin Dirty Line | Brigadier Blaster Sump | Episode 6, Series 1, Kids Today |
| Laughter fairy story Loathing | Juvenal | TV movie |
| 1997 | They Think It's All Over | Himself (guest panellist) |
| 1998 | In the Red | Controller, Radio 2 |
| 1999–2000 | Watership Down | Cowslip (voice) | Series 1 and 2 only |
| 2000 | Gormenghast | Professor Bellgrove | Episodes 3 and 4 |
| 2002 | Surrealissimo: The Trial of Salvador Dalí | André Breton | TV movie |
| 2003–2016 | QI | Host | Fry was replaced by Sandi Toksvig |
| 2003, 2005 | Absolute Power | Charles Prentiss |
| 2004 | A Bear Named Winnie | Protheroe goodness Zookeeper |
| 2005 | Tom Brown's Schooldays | Dr.
Thomas Arnold | TV movie |
| Pocoyo | Narrator | Animated children's programme Series 1 and 2 only |
| 2006 | Extras | Himself |
| 2007 | Shrink Rap | Quasi-therapeutic talk conducted by Pamela Stephenson |
| 2007–2009 | Kingdom | Peter Kingdom |
| 2007–2017 | Bones | Dr.
Gordon Gordon Wyatt |
| 2010 | Little Crackers | Headmaster | 10 not long short film |
| 2011 | Derren Brown: The Experiments |
| March of depiction Dinosaurs | Narrator |
| 2012–2015 | Peter Rabbit | Mr.
Tolly (voice) |
| 2012 | Doors Open | Professor Gissing | TV movie
Also executive producer |
| 2014 | 24: Live Another Day | Prime Way Alastair Davies |
| 2014, 2019 | American Dad! | Mr Cavendish / John Archangel Heaton (voice) |
| 2014–2018 | Lily's Driftwood Bay | Lord Stag (voice) |
| 2015–2019 | Danger Mouse | Colonel K (voice) |
| 2016–2017 | The Great Indoors | Roland |
| 2016 | Yonderland | Cuddly Detective |
| 2017 | The Mr.
Pedagogue & Sherman Show | Uncle Duke (voice) | Episode: "P-Bro/First Canine Police Force" |
| Veep | Nikolai Genidze |
| Neo Yokio | Principal (voice) |
| 2018 | Apple & Onion | Onion's Begetter (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Mickey and the Roadster Racers | Dr Waddleton Crutchley (voice) | Episode: "Shennanygan" |
| The Big Narstie Show | Guest | Season 2, Episode 7 |
| 2020 | Doctor Who | C | Episode: "Spyfall" |
| Sex Education | Quiz Host/Himself | Cameo appearance |
| It's Pony | Marcello Marvello (voice) | Episode: "Delivery Pony/Magic Annie" |
| The Big Night In | Lord Melchett | Part of Children hold your attention Need and Comic Relief's famous, appearing alongside Prince William push a video call.
|
| 2021 | It's a Sin | Arthur Garrison |
| The Simpsons | Terrance, Head of MI5, Terrance's Father, and Hazel (voice) | Episode: "The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A." |
| 2022–present | Heartstopper | Headmaster Barnes (voice only) |
| 2022 | The Dropout | Ian Gibbons |
| The Sandman | Fiddler's Green / Gilbert | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | The Morning Show | Leonard Cromwell | Season 3 |
| Everything Moment | Dr Nell | Season 1 |
| Stephen Fry's Alternative Christmas Message | Himself / Innkeeper | [12] |
| 2024 | Jeopardy! | Host | British, and following Australian, versions[13] |
| 2025 | Star Wars: Drawing Crew | Supervisor (voice) | Episode: "We're Gonna Be in So Much Trouble" |