In 1989, he joined The Bill, the long-running police serial, as PC Dave Quinnan, and became a very popular character and a household name. He had previously appeared as a witness to a crime in series 3, in the episode entitled "Missing, Presumed Dead". When the series decided to focus more on the officers themselves and less on crime, Quinnan was given a number of serious storylines which Paul performed with some panache. These included being kicked almost to death by a gang of thugs and having to spend several weeks in hospital on a drip, falling in love with a colleague's girlfriend and having an affair with her (and then marrying her after the affair became public), and then having an extramarital relationship himself with another officer. The character was eventually transferred after successfully undertaking undercover work.