Paul Danan

Paul Louis Danan (2 July 1978 – 15 January 2025) was an English actor and television personality, known for playing 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.

Career Between 1997 and 2001, Danan played Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks. 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 won funniest reality TV personality at the 2007 Loaded Lafta Awards. 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 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 from the age of 14 and survived a heroin overdose in 2007. Danan said that he had been to rehab 17 times by 2022, 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, 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 use.

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 Sources:

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Work Result Reference 1999 Inside Soap Awards Best Actor Hollyoaks 2006 Loaded Laftas Comedy Awards Funniest TV Reality Person