Campbell began his career with a twenty-five-minute short film in 1995 called Two Minutes, which was Peter Kay's television debut. He gave his talents to episodes of Dream Team and The Bill before getting more steady work in the 1999-2000 season on Peak Practice, then story edited by Matthew Bouch, and Glasgow Kiss, written by Stephen Greenhorn. In 2001, he returned to Peter Kay's side to helm Phoenix Nights. In 2002, he directed a few episodes of the Chris Chibnall creation, Born and Bred, which starred Tracey Childs, Clive Swift, and Donald Gee. He moved to Judge John Deed for a few episodes, where he directed guest stars John Sessions and Sarah Paul. Afterwards, he made the tele-film Death in Holy Orders, co-starring Tom Goodman Hill and Hugh Fraser, an uncredited actor on The Smugglers