Tragic 'curse' of Hollyoaks stars who battled with drugs and booze addictions
Several young actors who have appeared in Hollyoaks have battled with addiction to alcohol and other substances, bravely speaking out about their ordeals in a bid to help others
Late actor Paul Danan was best known for playing cheeky chappy Sol Patrick in the long-running soap Hollyoaks.
Offscreen, the star faced significant demons, battling addictions with alcohol and drugs for years with at least 17 stays in rehab. Confirming his passing, Paul's management said today: "It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of @pauldanan at just 46 years old. Known for his television presence, exceptional talent, and unwavering kindness, Paul was a beacon of light to so many.
"His untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him. 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." The star battled with health problems and addiction in the past, with Paul opening up about his struggles with fans.
We take a look at the brave Hollyoaks stars who have spoken of their torment with substance abuse, in a bid to help others...
Paul Danan Paul became a heartthrob when he appeared in Hollyoaks (Image:
Channel 4)The star was very open about his past addiction to drugs and alcohol, which led to at least 17 stays in rehab and a terrifying near-death experience when he snorted heroin. Paul had begun experimenting with ecstasy when he was just 14 and tried cocaine for the first time at age 17, calling himself "The Addict" and a "functioning alcoholic" at the height of his addictions. On one occasion, he had recently left rehab and headed to his parents when he bought cocaine and heroin from a drug dealer.
The star later told The Jeremy Kyle Show his mother had found him choking on his "last breaths" in his bed and called an ambulance. "My mum came into the bedroom and heard me making these noises," Paul said in 2019. "It sounded like I was snoring but it was me choking on my last breaths. I was overdosing."
The father to a son called DeNiro, born in September 2015, Paul went onto work with young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and the impact it could have on their mental health. Speaking to The Sun in 2022, he said: "I haven't touched any drugs or alcohol in twenty months, and I'm closer than ever to my parents and siblings."
Steph Davies Steph says she hit rock bottom in Celebrity Big BrotherSteph joined the soap in 2010, with Sinead O'Connor proving a hugely popular character for five years until the actress was dismissed on the spot in 2015 for arriving for work under the influence of alcohol, following repeated warnings for lateness and poor attendance. The following year, the troubled star appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and says her addiction to alcohol "progressed" during her time on the show.
In a video, she said: "From a young age I never agreed with alcohol. At 14, I remember being at a wedding and I couldn't stop. I actually went round every table and took the drinks off the adults and put them under a table.
"I properly wanted to get drunk for the first time - I was obliterated. I wet the bed and my mum tried to cover it from my dad. You try to put it on being young, but it's never agreed with me. Was I born like that? Is it genetics? All I do know is that I'm an addict.
"It really started to kick off for me... people have different views, my dad said it was in my early teens, around 17. For me, it really progressed when I went into Celebrity Big Brother. I went in and my mum and dad said, 'Promise us you won't drink if you go in.' But as soon as those doors shut I found the champagne."
The actress courageously opened up about her addiction taking hold in the pressure cooker environment of Celebrity Big Brother and recalled a later incident which saw her contemplate taking her own life. "I checked into a hotel under a different name because I was going to kill myself and didn't want anyone to find me," she said.
"My mum and dad were looking for me... Apparently they got the ambulance people, they broke into the room and I was collapsed on the floor absolutely out of it."
"I was drinking myself to death," the star opened up to New! Magazine. "I was so mentally abused and physically tortured. I was destroyed. I got dragged to rehab by my mum and dad and they said: 'Please help her because she's going to die'."
Steph returned to Hollyoaks as Sinead in 2018, spending another two years on the soap. Turning 30 in 2023, she said she didn't recognise the girl she used to be and was rightly proud of herself for battling back from the brink.
Now sober, the actress is mum to seven-year-old Caben, with another child on the way. She regularly attends recovery meetings and sponsors other women battling addiction. "I've grown up and I've worked my arse off to be where I am today â hell yes, Iâm proud of myself!" she said. "My dad always tells me there's one thing I am, and thatâs a fighter, and I really am."
Joe Tracini Joe based his stand-up show around his struggle with his mental health (Image:
Twitter/@joetracini)Joe, the son of comic Joe Pasquale, joined Hollyoaks in 2010 as Dennis Savage, appearing in the soap for four years. He returned in 2018 for a brief stint but the following year, the star opened up about his battles with his mental health, which included drug and alcohol addiction.
In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, the actor shared a clip of himself from 2012 which showed him seemingly high on drugs and crawling on his hands and knees, with what appeared to be drugs paraphernalia in the background. "I was a drug addict, I was an alcoholic, I went to three rehabs," he said. "I am nearly seven years clean.
"When I came out my first rehab in 2012, I asked the people who were closest to me, to film me when I was in whatever state I was in. They did and I'm very thankful to them for doing that, because they were just trying to help me out."
Joe said the shocking clip had been filmed when he walked out of a hospital his loved ones had taken him to in a bid to get clean. Instead, he had taken a "very sizeable overdose".
Speaking out to promote Mental Health Awareness Week, the star added: "I wasn't drunk, I hadn't taken anything else and this was about two weeks before I climbed over onto the wrong side of a bridge.
"The drinks and the drugs were a symptom of a bigger problem. And if I'd found the bigger problem quicker, I would have hurt less people. So I'm doing it to try and make that worth something."
In the 2019 footage, Joe said he was "over four years sober" but his addictions had left him with long term issues, including multiple suicide attempts. "I have been left with a personality disorder called Emotional Unstable Personality Disorder, also known as BPD, which is like a Poundshop bipolar," he said. "It's mostly the same stuff, just some of it's a bit s***ter. That is what I'm living with."
In 2022 Joe wrote Ten Things I Hate About Me, an account of living with Borderline Personality Disorder, with a one-up show of the same name detailing living with his condition.
Speaking last year, he praised Hollyoaks, telling I Talk Telly he wouldn't be here without the help of the soap. "I was very fortunate to have been where I was when I was there, because I made some wonderful friends at Hollyoaks, not loads, but there are people that I care about and care about me that I have in my life still and that's not the case from everywhere I've been," said the star.
"The mental support that i received from Hollyoaks in my time there, particularly in 2011/2012, when I got there and started going to the rehabs, Bryan Kirkwood was in charge and he was one of a number of people, thanks to the time and energy they put into me, without whom, I would not be here."
If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 by calling 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org
Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
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