On leaving drama school he appeared as David Teal in an episode of "The Onedin Line" (1972) following which he had a season at the Library Theatre in Manchester. Lavers appeared in "She Stoops to Conquer" (1973–1974) at the Little Theatre, Bristol, "Jumpers" (1973–1974), "Vivat! Vivat Regina!" (1973-1974), and "Othello" (1973-1974), all at the Bristol Old Vic. He played Lord Peter Dattering in "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" (1974), one of the BBC A Ghost Story for Christmas series, going on to play opposite Julia Foster as her first husband in the BBC dramatization of "Moll Flanders" (1975). For Yorkshire Television Lavers played James Lamert in "Dickens of London" (1976) and Aspinall in an episode of the BBC drama "When the Boat Comes In" (1976). He appeared in "The Blue Poster" for Norway TV, starred as Jack Worthing at Westcliff Palace Theatre in "The Importance of Being Earnest" and then appeared at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester in "She Stoops to Conquer". In 1977 he played the Infantry Major in "Wings", and after playing Farrah in the Doctor Who story "The Androids of Tara" (1978) he spent three months at the English Theatre in Vienna playing Algernon in "The Importance of Being Earnest". In 1978 he played Harvey in "Wilde Alliance" and the Doctor in "You're Only Young Twice", while in 1979 he returned to "The Onedin Line", this time as Francis Polter. In 1980 he played Selwyn in "Love in a Cold Climate", and in 1981 he appeared as Cynon in the children's series "Into the Labyrinth". When the acting roles dried up, and needing to support his young family, Lavers took a job in the Youth Training Scheme as a tutor in the theatre course. From 1984 to 1993 he was a Presenter for Anglia television, when, as 'Mr. Midnight' he appeared throughout the night introducing programmes until the early hours. When this ended he was a Presenter for the shopping channel QVC from 1993 to 2000. While working for Friendly TV in 2003, Lavers inadvertently broadcast a rumour that he believed Nicole Kidman to be gay, after his microphone was left open during a commercial break. The presenters apologised when they learned that this had been accidentally broadcast.