His work for television includes A Tale of Two Cities (1980), the BBC Sunday classic serial in which he played the dual lead roles of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, Secret Army (1978–79) as Major Nicholas Bradley, The Fourth Arm (1979), Special Branch (1974), Blake's 7 (1979), Doctor Who (1982), Inspector Morse (1990), Paradise Postponed (1986) based on book by John Mortimer (audiobook-recorded by Paul Shelley as well) and its sequel Titmuss Regained (1991, also audiobook), Revelations (1994–95), Heartbeat (2002) and Crossroads (2003).
[6] Other notable roles are: at Shakespeare's Globe: Julius Caesar (title role), Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, three Tom Stoppard plays in the West End The Invention of Love (Oscar Wilde), Arcadia (Bernard), The Real Thing (Henry), at Royal National Theatre: The Secret Rapture (Tom French), Hedda Gabler (Tesman), The Crucible (Hale), Lady in the Dark (Kendal), at Royal Shakespeare Company: Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt), King Lear (Edmund), The Winter’s Tale (Leontes), Troilus and Cressida (Achilles), Les liaisons dangereuses (Valmont).
Shelley has also often worked at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, as an actor and director, on such plays as Uncle Vanya and King Lear.
[8] Shelley played Elyot Chase in Noël Coward's Private Lives at the Theatre Royal, York and returned there to direct Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons, in June 2008.
[14] "Earthquakes in London" by Mike Bartlett and directed by Rupert Goold was on UK tour until 12 November 2011 with Paul Shelley as the father, Robert.
[17] From 21 January to 8 February 2014 the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh staged Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, with Paul playing the father, James Tyrone.