Paul Danan
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Paul Louis Danan (2 July 1978 – 15 January 2025) was an English actor and television personality, known for portraying the role of Sol Patrick in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'', between 1997 and 2001. In 2005, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of ITV's ''
Celebrity Love Island ''Love Island'' (originally ''Celebrity Love Island'') is a British reality television programme that was aired on ITV in 2005 and 2006. In the show, twelve single celebrities spend five weeks on an island in Fiji. The final couple remaining wi ...
'' and returned for the second series in 2006. He was also a housemate on the twentieth series of ''
Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...
'' in 2017.


Early life

Danan was born in
Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, to a
Moroccan Jewish Moroccan Jews (; ; ) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were much later met by a second wave of migrants fro ...
family, on 2 July 1978. His father was from
Fez, Morocco Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes, Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the List of cities in Morocco, largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to ...
. Danan attended the
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...
.


Career

Between 1997 and 2001, Danan played Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap opera, ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
''. Following his departure from the soap, he played "the Monster" in ''Desires of Frankenstein'' by James Martin Charlton at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2002, Danan played Melody's Agent Max Mitford in the
CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
series '' The Queen's Nose''. In 2005, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of ITV's ''
Celebrity Love Island ''Love Island'' (originally ''Celebrity Love Island'') is a British reality television programme that was aired on ITV in 2005 and 2006. In the show, twelve single celebrities spend five weeks on an island in Fiji. The final couple remaining wi ...
''. He returned for the second series in 2006. Following his appearance on the show, Danan won funniest reality TV personality at the 2007
Loaded Lafta Awards The Loaded Lafta Awards (from 2003 to 2013) was an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances from throughout the previous year. The awards were inaugurated in 2003, Loaded (magazin ...
. The same year, he appeared in an episode of ''
Dick & Dom in da Bungalow ''Dick & Dom in da Bungalow'' is a British children's television series presented by the duo Dick and Dom (Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood). The series was broadcast on weekend mornings for five series on the CBBC Channel, BBC One and BBC Two, ...
'' and presented a television series entitled ''Test Drive My Girlfriend'' on
ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...
. In September 2006, Danan appeared in the
ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...
series Calum, Fran and Dangerous Danan, in which he traveled from Texas to Los Angeles on America's U.S. Route 66 with
Calum Best Calum Milan Best (born February 6, 1981) is an American television personality and entrepreneur. He is the only child of footballer George Best. He is also the chairman of the Dorking Wanderers women's team. Early life Best was born in San Jose ...
and Fran Cosgrave. In 2007, Danan was due to play Jack in '' Jack & the Beanstalk'' at the
Preston Guild Hall Preston Guild Hall is an entertainment venue in Preston, Lancashire, England, which opened in 1973. History The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace the town's Public Hall. The new building, which was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Mar ...
, but he was sacked after swearing during the
Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...
switch on. In 2009, Danan was a guest on the first and second series of the Channel 4 sketch show '' The Kevin Bishop Show''. From 2010 to 2011, he co-hosted ''Stars and Strikes'' for
4Music 4Music was a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. Launched on 15 August 2008, the original incarnation, replacing The Hits television channel, showed a mix of music and entertainment pr ...
with presenter Rick Edwards playing a ten-frame ten-pin bowling match against a popstar or group. In November 2012, Danan appeared in an episode of ITV drama '' Crime Stories''. In 2015, he played the character Steve in the TV series ''Good Girls Club'' for Sky TV. In August 2017, Danan competed in the twentieth series of ''
Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...
''. On Day 18, he became the fifth evictee. On an episode of '' The Jeremy Kyle Show'' broadcast on ITV on 9 February 2019, Danan discussed his
substance addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can a ...
. He admitted to being a recovering addict. In January 2022, Danan appeared on the seventh series of E4's '' Celebrity Coach Trip'' in
Northern Portugal The North Region ( ) or Northern Portugal is the most populous region in Portugal, ahead of Lisbon, and the third most extensive by area. The region has 3,576,205 inhabitants according to the 2017 census, and its area is with a density of 173 inha ...
, where he was put with Team GB athlete
Ashley McKenzie Ashley McKenzie (born 17 July 1989) is a judoka competing at the men's 60 kg division. Born in England, he represents Jamaica internationally and has competed for Great Britain in the past. He was a member of the Great Britain Olympic Ju ...
. Danan and McKenzie joined a line-up which featured fellow celebrity travellers like
Matt Richardson Matthew Jeffrey Richardson (born 28 May 1991) is an English comedian and broadcaster, known as a co-presenter on the ITV2 spin-off show ''The Xtra Factor (British TV series), The Xtra Factor'' with Caroline Flack in 2013. In 2016, Richardson be ...
, Honey G, Ginny Lemon, pop duo
Honeyz The Honeyz are a British Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group currently composed of members Célena Cherry, Heavenli Abdi and Cherry's sister, Candace Cherry, as a touring member. The group had five UK top 10 hits between 1998 and 2000, with "Final ...
, and '' Birds of a Feather'' stars
Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Robson Dunford (' Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020), and her appearances ...
and
Lesley Joseph Lesley Diana Joseph (born 14 October 1945) is an English actress and broadcaster, whose career on stage and screen spans over fifty years. She is best known for playing Dorien Green in the television sitcom ''Birds of a Feather (TV series), Bir ...
.


Personal life

Danan previously lived in
Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...
, where he ran a drama club for local children. He had one son.


Legal issues

In 2010, Danan was given a £350 fine after he was found to be in possession of drugs and swore at a police officer. He was accused of driving under the influence of drugs in Warrington on 2 October 2024. Before his death, Danan had been due to appear at court in Warrington on two drug charges on 16 January 2025.


Health and death

Danan struggled with an addiction to vapes, cigarettes and cocaine. He said he experimented with
ecstasy Ecstasy most often refers to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand o ...
from the age of 14 and survived a heroin overdose in 2007. Danan said that he had been to rehab 17 times by 2022, and that he had spent "about £1 million on rehab and recovery" by then. In June 2024, Danan was hospitalised for
respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...
caused by "obsessive" vape usage. He had to be given
CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...
by his family, before being admitted to ICU with
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
. Doctors warned him that if he continued smoking in any form, he risked being linked to an
oxygen tank An oxygen tank is an oxygen storage vessel, which is either held under pressure in gas cylinders, referred to in the industry as high pressure oxygen cylinders, or as liquid oxygen in a cryogenic storage tank. Uses Oxygen tanks are used to stor ...
later in life. On 15 January 2025,
Avon and Somerset Police Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West Engla ...
attended an address in
Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath, Somerset, Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislingto ...
,
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, where Danan was pronounced dead, aged 46. His death was announced the following day, with a statement from his management giving no cause of death and saying that no further comments would be made. His death was not treated as suspicious. Following the inquest into his death on the 11 March 2025, it was announced he had died from a cocktail of drugs with heroin, methadone, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone found in his system, with a secondary finding of benzodiazepine.Paul Danan died after taking cocktail of drugs, inquest hears
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
''. Retrieved 11 March 2025.


Filmography


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danan, Paul 1978 births 2025 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts People from Chigwell Male actors from London English male soap opera actors British people of Moroccan-Jewish descent English male stage actors Drug-related deaths in England