# Paul Danan

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 soap opera Hollyoaks, between 1997 and 2001. In 2005, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of ITV's Celebrity Love Island and returned for the second series in 2006. He was also a housemate on the twentieth series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.

## Early life

Danan was born in Chigwell, Essex, to a Moroccan Jewish family, on 2 July 1978. His father was from Fez, Morocco. Danan attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

## Career

Between 1997 and 2001, Danan played Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks. 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 series The Queen's Nose. In 2005, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of ITV's Celebrity Love Island. He returned for the second series in 2006. Following his appearance on the show, Danan was awarded a Loaded Laftas Comedy Award for funniest reality TV personality. The same year, he appeared in an episode of Dick & Dom in da Bungalow and presented a television series entitled Test Drive My Girlfriend on ITV2. In September 2006, Danan appeared in the ITV2 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 and Fran Cosgrave. In 2007, Danan was due to play Jack in Jack & the Beanstalk at the Preston Guild Hall, but he was sacked after swearing during the Christmas Lights 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 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. 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. 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, where he was put with Team GB athlete Ashley McKenzie. Danan and McKenzie joined a line-up which featured fellow celebrity travellers like Matt Richardson, Honey G, Ginny Lemon, pop duo Honeyz, and Birds of a Feather stars Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph.

## Personal life

Danan previously lived in Hertford, where he ran a drama club for local children. He had a son named Deniro, who was born in September 2015.

### 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 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 caused by "obsessive" vape usage. He had to be given CPR by his family, before being admitted to ICU with pneumonia. Doctors warned him that if he continued smoking in any form, he risked being linked to an oxygen tank later in life.
On 15 January 2025, Avon and Somerset Police attended an address in Brislington, Bristol, where Danan was pronounced dead the age of 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 is not being treated as suspicious.
During his inquest on the 11th of March 2025, it was revealed 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.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | The Knock | Gang Member | 1 episode |
| 1997–2001 | Hollyoaks | Sol Patrick | Series regular |
| 1999 | TV Hits Awards | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 1999 | Brookside: Double Take | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2000 | FBi | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2001 | A Question of TV | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2001 | Liquid News | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2001, 2002 | Night Fever | Himself | Guest; 2 episodes |
| 2001 | The Saturday Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2002 | Daddy’s Girl | Nathan | Television film |
| 2002 | The Basil Brush Show | Referee | Episode: "The Date" |
| 2003 | The Queens Nose | Max | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Adventure Inc. | Cedric | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Casualty | Cedric | 1 episode |
| 2003 | The Pilot Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2003 | Ten Minutes | Chris | Short film |
| 2004 | Football Challenge | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2004 | One Man and His Dog | Wayne | Film role |
| 2005–2006 | Celebrity Love Island | Himself | Contestant; series 1 & 2 |
| 2005–2006 | Celebrity Love Island: Aftersun | Himself | Guest |
| 2005 | Death of Celebrity | Himself | Documentary |
| 2005 | Dick & Dom in da Bungalow | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2005 | Live at the Apollo | Himself | Audience member |
| 2005 | Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2005 | Top of the Pops Reloaded | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | Richard & Judy | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | Test My Girlfriend | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | Showbiz Poker | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | The Sharon Osbourne Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | The Charlotte Church Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | Brainiac's Test Tube Baby | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2006 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Himself | Guest; 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Balls of Steel | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Alan Titchmarsh Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Justin Lee Collins Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Kevin Bishop Show | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2010 | Celebrity Quitters | Himself | Participant |
| 2010–2011 | Stars and Strikes | Himself | Presenter |
| 2012 | Celebrity Come Dine with Me | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2012 | Celebrity Juice | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2012 | Crime Stories | Kevin Baker | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Most Shocking Reality TV Moments | Himself | Documentary |
| 2015 | Good Girls Club | Steve | Main role |
| 2016, 2017 | Sam Delaney's News Thing | Himself | Guest; 7 episodes |
| 2017 | Amoc | DCI Collins | Film role |
| 2017 | Loose Women | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2017 | Celebrity Big Brother | Himself | Housemate; series 20 |
| 2017 | When Reality TV Goes Horribly Wrong | Himself | Documentary |
| 2017 | Most Shocking Celebrity Moments 2017 | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2017 | The Story of Reality TV | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2019 | Are We Dead Yet | Gavin | Film role |
| 2019 | Judge Romesh | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2019 | When Soap Stars Go Horribly Wrong | Himself | Documentary |
| 2020 | Doll House | Andy | Film role |
| 2021 | The B@it | Himself | Episode: "Is Xmas Offensive?" |
| 2021 | The Gift Musical | Washy | Episode: "Is Xmas Offensive?" |
| 2021 | At Home with Hayley | Himself | Guest; 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Celebrity Coach Trip | Himself | Contestant; series 7 |
| 2022 | Farage | Himself | Guest; 1 episode |
| 2025 | Bloody Love | Brian | Posthumous |
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## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Reference |
| 1999 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actor | Hollyoaks | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Loaded Laftas Comedy Awards | Funniest TV Reality Person | — | Won | |