Paul Shane worked as a miner before turning to entertainment, first as a singer and then as a comedian on the northern club circuit. He was discovered performing in Coronation Street, a break that led to his best-known role: the wheeler-dealing holiday camp entertainer Ted Bovis in the BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi! through the 1980s. Following that success he starred in the period sitcom You Rang, M'Lord?, and continued to appear in stage productions and television guest roles for the rest of his career.