TV presenter Vanessa Feltz has paid tribute to her “fantastically gifted” friend Paul Danan after he died earlier this week aged 46.
The 62-year-old made the tribute to Danan, who played bad boy Sol Patrick from 1997 to 2001 on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks – and was later known for his reality TV appearances, on Friday’s episode of The Jeremy Vine Show on Channel 5.
Speaking on the show, she said: “He was a friend of mine and he was the most delightful person.
“You know, when someone comes in and you just know that the whole evening’s going to be fabulous because he’s going to be funny and he’s going to be lively.
“He’s going to be, you know, telling you stories he shouldn’t have told you and telling you not to tell anyone and you immediately tell everyone.
“You know, he was funny and lively and lovely and warm and a fantastically gifted actor.
“And nobody will ever know how much being caught up in the maelstrom of fame so very young after starring in Hollyoaks so young and being so famous so quickly, how much of a difference that made to his life?
“You never can work that one out, but he was obviously very troubled and had, you know, all manner of really kind of rapacious addictions, could never entirely break away from them.
“But he was such a lovely, talented, sweet man and he’ll be so, so sorely missed. And he leaves behind a very loving family and a little boy.
“And his little boy he called DeNiro after his favourite actor, so DeNiro Danan. Very, very sadly missed.”
Danan died the day before he was due to appear in court on drugs charges.
A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Police said officers were called to an address in Brislington, Bristol, at about 5.20pm on Wednesday, “where sadly a man in his 40s was declared deceased by paramedics”.
Danan had been due to appear for a plea hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, after being charged with being in possession of several bags of cocaine and a “quantity” of cannabis, according to court documents.
He was also accused of driving whilst under the influence of drugs on October 2 last year, in Warrington, Cheshire.
Danan had been open about his struggles with addiction, entering rehab and trying to recover.
He had appeared on ITV’s Celebrity Love Island as a contestant in 2005 and 2006, but did not win either series.
He also appeared in the 2006 ITV2 reality show Calum, Fran And Dangerous Danan, in which he, former Westlife bodyguard and Celebrity Love Island winner Fran Cosgrave, and Calum Best, travel across the US.
Best, the son of footballer George Best, took part in Celebrity Love Island and a reality travel programme with Danan, described him as one of the “funniest, kindest, and most authentic people I’ve known”.
In an Instagram post, he added that Danan was “truly a creative genius too having all of us laughing our asses off at his insta profile he made to rinse a certain era of celeb culture we lived.
“Life wasn’t always easy for him, but he faced it with such heart and courage, and that inspired so many of us.
“We shared many laughs, chats, and unforgettable moments. My heart goes out to his loved ones right now. Rest easy, brother.”
In 2017, Danan took part in Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother, when he was evicted early, and said at the time he hoped the series would give him a “second chance” at his career.
Danan’s other TV appearances included on E4’s Celebrity Coach Trip and Channel 4 sketch comedy programme The Kevin Bishop Show.
Last year, Danan told The Sun about his addiction to vaping, saying he had collapsed in May over e-cigarette use.
He also said he was warned by a nurse that if he was to “ever smoke in any form again, I risk being linked to an oxygen tank later on in life”.
Danan quit smoking in 2021 and said he then became “obsessed” with vapes, and would “always have one in my hand, I would even go to sleep with it, like a comfort thing”.
He had previously discussed his substance abuse and recovery on ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2019, which he said began when he was a teenager.
Danan said he had to “work hard at it every day to keep in recovery”.
In 2010, he pleaded guilty to drugs and public order offences, and was fined £350 and referred to a drugs agency for support by Stevenage Magistrates’ Court.
