The death of Hollyoaks star Paul Danan, 46, was announced earlier today (January 16). And, while his cause of death is unknown, in the past he’d been open about the many health issues he battled.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of @pauldanan at just 46 years old,” Paul’s management shared in a statement via Instagram. “During this difficult time, we kindly request respect and privacy for Paul’s family, friends, and colleagues. No further comments will be made at this time.”
To many, Paul was best known for portraying Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 drama Hollyoaks. He later appeared on Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother. However, behind the scenes, his health had been a continuous concern.
Paul Danan health issues – £1m on rehab
During an appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2019, Paul revealed he had been to rehab 17 times due to his battle with addiction. He estimated that it had cost hi £1 million in total.
“They’ve saved my life many times but it’s maintenance and it’s about sustaining that recovery and not putting anything before that recovery – even my little boy, who I love to death,” he said.
I’d overdosed and I was pretty much just taking my last few breaths.
Despite relapsing many times, Paul insisted he would never give up on trying to stay clean from drugs and alcohol.
Reflecting on his reality show past, he admitted: “I should never have done any of those shows really because I wasn’t well. I’m not well.”
Paul previously came close to death after snorting heroin and overdosing. His mum came to the rescue and called an ambulance.
“I’d overdosed and I was pretty much just taking my last few breaths. Luckily down the road there was an ambulance just parked up that saved my life,” he explained.
Paul relapsed again during the pandemic
When the UK shut down in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Paul managed to avoid drugs for 18 months. However, after being diagnosed with ADHD the previous year, Paul’s mental health struggled during lockdown.
With his dad at high risk of Covid-19 and his son, DeNiro, spending quarantine with his mum in London, Paul “felt like I was going mad” in his flat.
“I didn’t want to keep paying rent on a flat I wasn’t staying in, so I decided to get rid of it, he told The Sun in 2022. “But when I went to collect my things, I saw an empty baggie [a small plastic bag used to store drugs] when I was clearing up and it triggered something.
“I ended up bumping into someone outside and getting some cocaine from them. It was a moment of like, [bleep] it, I’m not going to get another chance. Then I went back to my parents and used. I only had a few lines but it was enough to get the taste again. They say one line is too many, a thousand is never enough, and that’s what it’s like.”
Paul admitted he felt “so guilty” and “ashamed” over relapsing. He also confessed that he believes he’s spent “about £1 million” on rehab and recovery.
Paul’s ‘respiratory failure’ from vaping
Following a smoking addiction, Paul opted to vape instead. However, things went bad to worse when he collapsed in June 2024 and later contracted pneumonia while spending a week in intensive care. The situation was so serious that he said he could have died.
“I’m upstairs puffing away on my vape then suddenly I lost my breath and collapsed,” he told The Sun. “My family called for an ambulance and started giving me CPR, then police arrived and took over before paramedics took me to hospital. I was on a machine in ICU and ended up with pneumonia. My family were warned I might not make it through the night. I’m so lucky.”
Paul recalled the doctor being “so harsh with me” and issuing him a warning. “She told me: ‘Paul, you don’t know how serious this was and you are going to be in here for a while now, on this oxygen’. She said if I ever smoke in any form again I risk being linked to an oxygen tank later on in life.”
“After years of smoking cigarettes and all sorts, it’s the vaping which has done me in. That pushed me over the edge.”
Paul Danan on his ADHD diagnosis
During an appearance on GB News last month, Paul revealed he had been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 40. With a history of addiction and mental health struggles, he believed it was “an underlying cause of addictions”.
“I think some people have more cortisol and more anxiety if you have alcoholism and addiction in you,” he said.
Paul insisted that “if you have that fear and nervousness, it can be caused from trauma from when you were younger and that trauma could be part of a mental health problem”.
“I didn’t know I had ADHD, which is where things can get overwhelming and things can be too much sometimes. And it used to be an anger illness, funny enough,” he continued.
“But you don’t know that you’re dealing with something, and then you’re trying to help it with a stimulant, which is what calms you, and that stimulant is not good for you and becomes detrimental to your life.”
Since recovering from addiction, Paul started his own theatre company to help others overcome similar situations.
Read more: Paul Danan’s haunting final Instagram post a week before his death aged 46
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The star was hospitalised and put into intensive care six months before his death
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