Born in Guildford, Surrey, UK, he was educated at Felsted School in Essex and was a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. He trained at the Guildford School of Acting graduating in 1989. He has also appeared in West End musicals including roles in, Les Misérables, Buddy, A Slice of Saturday Night and Marguerite. Doherty played the role of Amos Hart in the West End production of Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre in 2011 opposite Christie Brinkley. He later reprised this role when the show transferred to the Garrick Theatre playing opposite America Ferrera. In the summer of 2012 Doherty appeared in London Road at the Royal National Theatre.In 2013 Doherty returned to The Royal National Theatre to appear in NT:50 a show celebrating the theatres 50th birthday. This one off performance was broadcast live on BBC2 and around the world. In 2014 Doherty appeared at The Royal Albert Hall as Gangster 1 in Kiss Me Kate. The Show was part of the BBC Proms season and is due to be shown on BBC2 on Christmas Day 2014.