Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye’s School, he studied French and Physical Education at Birmingham University before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and later joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1968. He played Bosola in the 1971 RSC production of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi.

In 1980, Hutchings starred as a character called Trunky Porter in the TV series Juliet Bravo.

A first collaboration with David Leland for the film Made in Britain (directed by Alan Clarke and starring Tim Roth) in 1981 has led to his notable role as Hubert Mansell, the father of Emily Lloyd in Wish You Were Here in 1987.

In 1982, Hutchings won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his role in the musical Poppy.

In 1987, Hutchings played Harry Stobbs in Series 3, episode 4 of The Bill.

In 1998, he played Carry On actor Sid James in the Royal National Theatre’s production of Terry Johnson’s stage play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick, a behind-the-scenes look of the love affair between Sid James and his co-star Barbara Windsor, which was subsequently made into an ITV drama called Cor, Blimey! in 2000. In 2004, he played Nagg in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at the Albery Theatre alongside Sir Michael Gambon, Lee Evans and Liz Smith. From October 2006 to April 2007, he played Herr Schultz in the West End production of Cabaret. His final stage role was in 2009 in the West End production of The Shawshank Redemption.

On television, his most notable production has probably been Our Friends in the North (1996), in which he played corrupt building contractor John Edwards, a character closely based on the real-life figure of John Poulson. He also had a semi-regular role as Bobby Hollamby in the ITV prison drama Bad Girls from 2000 to 2003. Earlier, he had played second fiddle to Michael Gambon in 12 episodes of Maigret in 1992–1993. In 2005 he played Lionel Morris in Heartbeat.

In December 2006, he made an appearance in the Sky One television adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. From 2008 to 2009, he appeared in the ITV comedy series Benidorm as Mel Harvey and had a small role in the second Terry Pratchett adaptation Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic.

In February 2009, he appeared in EastEnders as Roger Clarke, Jane and Christian’s father and in the BBC film Nativity!.

In 2010 he appeared in the BBC medical drama Casualty and the sitcom Grandma’s House, both of which were screened after his death.