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Daniel James Howell (born 11 June 1991) is an English
YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...
, presenter, comedian and author. He gained prominence through his
YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...
s ''Daniel Howell'' (formerly known as ''danisnotonfire''), which reached over six million subscribers, and ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. Together with frequent collaborator
Phil Lester Philip Michael Lester (born 30 January 1987) is an English YouTuber and radio host. He is best known for his YouTube channels ''AmazingPhil'', which gained over 4 million subscribers, and ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. Together with frequent collaborato ...
, Howell presented the Sunday night entertainment show '' Dan and Phil'' on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
from January 2013 until August 2014, and the station's ''Internet Takeover'' slot from September 2014 until April 2016.


Early life

Howell grew up in Winnersh, Berkshire. He has a younger brother, Adrian, who started a YouTube channel of his own in 2018 and works as a photographer and lifestyle coach. He worked for the retail chain
Focus DIY Focus DIY was a privately owned chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom. It served the consumer DIY market sector, and most stores had some form of garden centre. At its peak in 2002, it was the second-largest DIY retailer in the United K ...
at the age of 16 and later at the supermarket
Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...
. He was a member of Wokingham Youth Theatre growing up. After graduating from The Forest School in 2009, Howell took a gap year, during which he started posting videos to his channel as a hobby. He then went to the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...
in 2010 to study law, but dropped out in 2011 because of a lack of interest in the subject, instead going on to pursue radio presenting and video blogging as a full-time profession.


Career


YouTube

Howell uploaded his first YouTube video titled "HELLO INTERNET" on 16 October 2009. He was encouraged by "some friends" including
Phil Lester Philip Michael Lester (born 30 January 1987) is an English YouTuber and radio host. He is best known for his YouTube channels ''AmazingPhil'', which gained over 4 million subscribers, and ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. Together with frequent collaborato ...
to continually upload videos to the site. He also has a second channel, ''danisnotinteresting,'' which has over 1.7 million subscribers and 72 million views, as of September 2020. He has broadcast weekly hour-long live shows on this channel, as well as on YouNow. Howell and Lester collaborated on a YouTube channel for
My Damn Channel Omnivision Entertainment (formerly ''My Damn Channel'') is an entertainment website and multichannel network founded to enable comedians, actors, filmmakers, musicians, and brands to co-produce, monetize and distribute original video content. Th ...
, entitled ''The Super Amazing Project'', in which they investigated
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
events. In October 2014, it was announced that as of that month, the duo would not carry on working on the project, in order to concentrate on their Radio 1 show. It was later announced that the ''Super Amazing Project'' would continue production, but hosted by different presenters, Alastair James Murder and Victoria Atkin, scouted by the My Damn Channel network. In 2012, he won the YouTube competition "SuperNote" run by
Rhett and Link Rhett James McLaughlin (born October 11, 1977) and Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal III (born June 1, 1978) are an American comedy duo. Self-styled as "Internetainers" (a portmanteau of "Internet" and "entertainers"), they are known for creating an ...
. He also featured in the weekly video series, ''Becoming YouTube'' by Benjamin Cook, which looked at the different aspects to becoming an
internet celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...
. He also wrote a blog for ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' about the creative process behind making his videos. On 12 September 2014, Howell and Lester posted the first video on their new gaming YouTube channel, ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. On 8 March 2015 the channel hit 1 million subscribers. It was officially the fastest growing channel on YouTube. ''DanAndPhilGAMES'' reached over 3.1 million subscribers. Popular recurring and annual series on this channel include their Sims 4 series, Spooky Week, and Gamingmas. As of the most recent upload in December 2018, the channel is on an indefinite hiatus. On 1 April 2015, Howell and Lester launched a spin-off channel ''DanAndPhilCRAFTS'' as an
April Fools April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may b ...
joke. It features a single video of them creating square snowflakes out of
paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...
, with an amateur editing style and humour throughout. It reached over 154,000 subscribers and 500,000 total video views in one week. "Don't cry, craft" became a popular
Internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
from that video, described by the ''
Standard-Examiner The ''Standard-Examiner'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Ogden, Utah, United States. With roughly 30,000 subscribers on Sunday and 25,000 daily, it is the third largest daily newspaper in terms of circulation in Utah, after ''The Sal ...
'' as "one of the best known YouTube phrases of all time". The channel was awarded the YouTube Silver Play Button at Summer in the City 2015. On 1 April 2016, Howell and Lester made a second video for that channel in which they did another joke tutorial, this time on making glitter faces. In 2017, a third and final video to end the trilogy, titled "Potato Prints" was uploaded. On 1 May 2017, Howell posted a video on his channel stating that he had changed the name of his YouTube channel from ''danisnotonfire'' to ''Daniel Howell'', after stating issues arising from the ''danisnotonfire'' name.


Radio

In January 2013, Howell and Lester became the presenters of
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
's Sunday evening entertainment and request show. They had occasionally worked with the station before, producing videos for the station's YouTube channel for
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
and presenting two
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
broadcasts. The show was designed to be interactive with the audience, featuring amateur music videos from listeners, challenges performed on air by the presenters, and song requests. Four months after starting the show, it won the Sony Golden Headphones award. Howell and Lester presented at the Teen Awards in 2013 and 2014, as part of the BBC online coverage and their Radio 1 show. In August 2014, it was announced that the last Dan and Phil show would be broadcast on 24 August, with the duo moving to a different show on Monday nights, featuring other popular video bloggers. This new show was titled '' The Internet Takeover'', and featured Howell along with Lester live on the first Monday of every month, before coming to an end in April 2016.


Television and film

In 2013 Lester and Howell appeared on ''
Friday Download ''Friday Download'' was a British children's entertainment television programme, produced by Saltbeef Productions on CBBC. It premiered on 6 May 2011. The final presenting team consisted of Molly Rainford, Anaïs Gallagher, Harvey Cantwell, ...
'', a BAFTA award-winning CBBC TV show. From 2014 to 2016, Howell and Lester hosted the worldwide YouTube livestream of the
Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
as well as making backstage videos for their channel. In 2015, Howell, along with Lester, had voice cameo appearances in the UK cinema release of
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...
' ''Big Hero 6'' as Technician 1 & 2. However, this version is not in the UK home release. That same year, the duo also guest-starred in fellow YouTuber PJ Liguori's web series
Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures ''Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures'' is a British-American fantasy comedy web series created by PJ Liguori, Sophie Newton, Louis Grant and Jamie Swarbrick (working collectively under Liguori's username of KickthePJ), and directed by PJ ...
, voicing anthropomorphic food items Brie and Rash. On 2 February 2016, his
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional sports, professional players, individually or as ...
documentary ''The Supergamers'' aired. In December 2016, Howell and Lester voiced two gorilla princes named Majinuni and Hafifu respectively, in the episode "The Lost Gorillas" in
Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven ...
's '' The Lion Guard''.


IRL Merch

In 2014, Lester's brother, Martyn, and Howell co-founded IRL Digital, Ltd., a company that creates and sells the merchandise of various other media personalities.


Games

In August 2015, Howell and Lester created an app, ''The 7 Second Challenge'', based on a YouTube challenge started by Lester in a 2014 video on his main channel. The app was discontinued in 2019. In October 2017, the duo released a party board game via Big Potato, ''Truth Bombs'', also the brainchild of Lester.


''The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire'' and ''The Amazing Tour Is Not on Fire''

On 26 March 2015, Lester and Howell announced via a trailer on Howell's channel that they had co-written a book titled '' The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire (TABINOF).'' It was released in the UK on 8 October 2015 and worldwide on 15 October 2015, published by
Ebury Press Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Centu ...
and
Random House Children's Books Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
. The book topped the General Hardbacks ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' Bestsellers list having sold 26,745 copies in the UK in the first week of its release. It also became a #1 ''New York Times'' Bestseller in the young adult hardcover list. In the same trailer the pair announced their theatrical stage show '' The Amazing Tour Is Not on Fire (TATINOF)'' which travelled around the UK during October and November 2015, ending with a show at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...
. During the tour, they sung original song " The Internet Is Here", which they later released as a charity single for Stand Up To Cancer, earning them a gold record disc for the sales of the song. In 2016, they took the tour to the US and Toronto, starting with a show in Orlando, Florida on 22 April and ended on 24 June with a show at the
Dolby Theatre The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. ...
in Hollywood, California. It was the largest tour ever achieved by YouTube creators. They later toured Australia in August 2016, starting in Perth and ending in Brisbane, and finished the tour with a European leg, performing in Stockholm, Berlin, and Dublin.


YouTube Red Originals and ''Dan and Phil Go Outside''

In October 2016, ''The Amazing Tour Is Not on Fire'' was released as a YouTube Red Original film by the same name along with a documentary, ''Dan and Phil's Story of TATINOF''. They are the first British YouTube creators to release content on the YouTube Red platform. Alongside these films, they released a photo book, ''Dan and Phil Go Outside'', in November 2016, which includes a personal collection of candid photos and insightful stories from the tour. The book became a #1 ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestseller.


''Interactive Introverts''

In November 2017, Lester and Howell announced their second tour, '' Interactive Introverts'', a world tour that would take place in 2018. The tour ran from April, starting in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, to September, ending in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
, and included 80 shows in 18 countries, including but not limited to Poland, the Philippines, Russia, New Zealand, Finland, and the Netherlands, making it one of the biggest YouTuber tours of all time. Lester and Howell partnered with
BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide ...
' TalentWorks to release a movie of ''Interactive Introverts'' with bonus features, such as behind the scenes content and director's commentary, on DVD,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
, and available for digital download in December 2018.


''You Will Get Through This Night''

In September 2020, Howell announced his first solo publication, '' You Will Get Through This Night''. Written in conjunction with psychologist Dr Heather Bolton, the book is "A practical guide to taking control of your mental health for today, tomorrow, and the days after." The book was released 18 May 2021 under the HQ and Dey Street Books imprints of
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
. It became a #1 ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' Bestseller.


Personal life

Howell and
Phil Lester Philip Michael Lester (born 30 January 1987) is an English YouTuber and radio host. He is best known for his YouTube channels ''AmazingPhil'', which gained over 4 million subscribers, and ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. Together with frequent collaborato ...
met on the Internet in 2009 and in person that October. They have lived together since August 2011, first in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
before moving to London in July 2012. In 2019, Howell revealed that the two have been romantically involved but refrained from discussing their current relationship, stating "I'm somebody that wants to keep the details of my personal life private. So is Phil." In October 2017, Howell posted a video, "Daniel and Depression", in which he revealed that he had suffered from
clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
. He also spoke of his journey to recovery, which involved taking
antidepressants Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...
, seeing a therapist, and focusing on "basic self-care". Howell uploaded the video one day after
World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day (10 October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global ...
, in which he and Lester supported #HelloYellow, a mental health campaign by UK-based YoungMinds, prompting the organisation to name Howell their newest
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...
. That same year, Howell supported and became involved in Stop, Speak, Support, an anti-cyberbullying campaign launched by Prince William. Following a hiatus from YouTube, in June 2019 Howell
came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the l ...
and
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
in a video uploaded on his channel; he also said that he does not "feel the need to use labels." He discussed external and
internalized homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
he dealt with over the course of his life, particularly in school, to the point of a
suicide attempt A suicide attempt is an attempt to die by suicide that results in survival. It may be referred to as a "failed" or "unsuccessful" suicide attempt, though these terms are discouraged by mental health professionals for implying that a suicide resu ...
when he was a teenager. He came out to his family earlier that month over email.


Bibliography

*'' The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire'' (2015), co-written with
Phil Lester Philip Michael Lester (born 30 January 1987) is an English YouTuber and radio host. He is best known for his YouTube channels ''AmazingPhil'', which gained over 4 million subscribers, and ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. Together with frequent collaborato ...
*''Dan and Phil Go Outside'' (2016), co-written with
Phil Lester Philip Michael Lester (born 30 January 1987) is an English YouTuber and radio host. He is best known for his YouTube channels ''AmazingPhil'', which gained over 4 million subscribers, and ''DanAndPhilGAMES''. Together with frequent collaborato ...
*'' You Will Get Through This Night'' (2021)


Awards and nominations


See also

* Dan and Phil


References


External links

*
''The Internet Takeover''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Daniel 1991 births BBC Radio 1 presenters Dan and Phil English company founders English male non-fiction writers English radio DJs English self-help writers English video bloggers English YouTubers Gaming YouTubers Gay entertainers British gay writers Living people English LGBT entertainers English LGBT writers LGBT YouTubers Mental health activists People from Bracknell People from Winnersh People from Wokingham Queer men Writers from Berkshire