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Paul Danan bravely opened up about his struggles with alcohol and drugs shortly before his tragic death – and he’d even promised a close friend he was getting sober.

The Hollyoaks actor was just 46 when he died, and was described as a “beacon of light” by his management. Early reports claimed that the star died after he ‘ slipped and fell ‘ at a luxury apartment near Bristol.

Now an inquest starts today over his death. In a podcast last year, Paul told how he was living in a ‘ dry house ‘ in Bristol which is believed to be the flat where he was found dead. Over the years, he had been brutally honest about his issues with addiction. The actor even came close to death after a terrifying overdose that occurred shortly after he left a rehab facility in South Africa.

Back in 2019, Paul explained that he’d sought therapy for his struggles with substance abuse and had undergone ‘ 17 stints in rehab’. On The Jeremy Kyle Show, the actor explained: “They]rehabs] do work. They’re amazing. 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”.

But the star sadly relapsed on a number of occasions. Speaking on The Dozen with Liam Tuffs podcast last year, he revealed he had an overdose not long after returning from a rehab stint in South Africa following his exit from Hollyoaks.

“It took a bad route, a very dark route. Drugs, I had an overdose. I came out of rehab in South Africa. The psychiatrist had put me on all these anti-psychotics. I was there for months”, he said at the time. “I got back home and my parents were so proud of me. I was fat and horrible and didn’t feel like myself”.

He revealed he left to get cocaine but also bought heroin – which he never used before. Paul continued: “They gave me my keys and car and I detoured and got some gear, some coke. I got a bag of brown]heroin] which I’d never done before. I snorted it and shouldn’t have snorted it because that’s dangerous. I ended up having an overdose really bad”.

Moments after he returned home to go to bed, his parents noticed something was wrong and called the ambulance. His mother found him and he ‘ couldn’t breathe’. She heard him ‘ gagging on his last breath ‘ when she came into the room but couldn’t wake him up.

The Hollyoaks actor previously revealed that his struggles with drugs began after he left the soap in 2001 and moved to LA to try and make it big in Hollywood. He said last year: “You can’t party and do well in Hollywood. You’ve got to be healthy. It was cool but I ended up getting into the wrong type of routine of using drugs”.

Friend and comedian Dapper Laughs has come forward to honour his good friend Paul and even shared how the actor supported him through his own battles.

Content creator Dapper, who’s real name is Daniel O’Reilly, shared a video on his Instagram page and talked about his and Paul’s friendship. During the video, Dapper also shared a voice note conversation he had with the late Hollyoaks actor. In the voice note, Paul can be heard saying: “My brother, just thought I’d touch base really see how you are, how you’re feeling, all that jazz. your therapist Pauly’s here if you wanna have a chat. love you mate”.

Dapper, who appeared in theatre show Time alongside Paul, replied, “I’m fighting a similar fight to what you’ve been fighting for years. The self-destructive stuff and from the point we’re rehearsing I’m gonna go completely sober – no booze, nothing”.

A supportive Paul then told his pal: “I’m so, so, so happy. I know, Dan, I know you’re one of us. I knew it from the minute we left you were like, ‘ let’s go and have a beer’. That’s me, that’s f**king me. You know, don’t you think I f**king wanted to. But I don’t anymore because I know I don’t need it, we don’t need it.

Last summer, Paul was rushed to the hospital and ended up in the ICU with pneumonia. Doctors warned his family that he ‘ might not make it through the night’. The actor smoked cigarettes for many years before switching to disposable vapes – which he would sometimes ‘ go to sleep with ‘ for comfort.

The doctor warned Paul that he would have to use an oxygen tank later in life if he didn’t stop vaping. He previously told The Sun:” I was dead — it’s a miracle I’m here. I’m upstairs puffing away on my vape then suddenly I lost my breath and collapsed. 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. The doctor was so, so harsh with me. 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”.

The star said that the flavours and “a YouTube video” convinced him that vaping was safer than cigarettes, adding that his ADHD had made “everything very visual” and “always thought they’d be OK”.

After his death, Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “Officers attended a property in Brislington, Bristol, at around 5.20pm yesterday (Wednesday 15 January) where sadly a man in his 40s was declared deceased by paramedics.

” His family have been notified and our thoughts are with them. They have asked for people to respect their privacy during this incredibly difficult time, “the statement read”. His death is not being treated as suspicious and officers are preparing a file for the coroner. “

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Just months before Paul Danan’s tragic death, he was hospitalised with a vape addiction.

The Hollyoaks actor sadly died earlier this year at the age of 46, with his management team confirming his passing in an emotional statement in January. Paul, who rose to fame playing Sol Patrick on the Channel 4, was described as a “beacon of light to so many” and his “untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him”.

It was later reported that he died after he ‘ slipped and fell ‘ in a luxury apartment near Bristol. He battled many addictions throughout his career and had visited rehab 17 times. The British TV star, whose death inquest is taking place today, was open about his health scares and publicly discussed two terrifying near-death experiences – one of which occurred months before his death when he suffered respiratory failure due to his ‘ obsessive ‘ vaping habit.

Paul revealed he was rushed to hospital when he collapsed and was admitted to intensive care. “I was dead – it’s a miracle I’m here. I’m upstairs puffing away on my vape then suddenly I lost my breath and collapsed”, he said. “My family called for an ambulance and started giving me CPR, then police arrived and took over before paramedics took me to hospital”.

He revealed his family were given the worst news as he explained: “I was on a machine in ICU and ended up with pneumonia. My family were warned that I might not make it through the night”. In a stark warning to fans, he added: “I’m so lucky”. Paul recalled how he had been vaping, and that had been the reason for his health scare.

He said the doctor was “harsh” with him and warned him how serious it was, explaining that if he ever smoked again, he could be on an oxygen tank. Paul quit smoking in 2021 but turned to vaping as he believed “it was the safest way to smoke”. He admitted: “I saw a YouTube video where someone blew cigarette smoke into cotton wool then did the same with a vape. The cotton wool turned black from the smoke from the cigarette, but the wool remained the same colour after the vape vapour hit it… Off the back of that, in my head – because I have ADHD everything is very visual – I’ve always thought they’d be OK”.

However, vaping soon became an addiction. He said: “Everywhere I went I’d have my vape with me. I’d always have one in my hand, I would even go to sleep with it, like a comfort thing”. Paul was open about his battles with addiction and drugs and was even handed cocaine on his first day on the set of Hollyoaks. He said: “The day I started there, someone and I am not going to say who, handed me an eighth of cocaine and I didn’t really know much about coke and he was like, ‘ welcome. ‘ It was the first day, the first read through, I hadn’t even filmed anything”.

Official advice from the NHS states that nicotine vaping is “substantially less harmful than smoking” and is an “effective tool” for quitting cigarettes. However, it is not “completely harmless, and NHS doctors only recommend it for adult smokers to” support quitting smoking and staying quit”.

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Bruce Willis ‘ wife Emma Heming Willis has insisted “caregivers need care too” after the tragic deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy.

The late actor, 95, was found dead in his New Mexico home on February 26, after suffering from a combination of severe heart disease, high blood pressure and advanced Alzheimer’s disease.

Authorities believe the star may have been alone for days in the home with his dead wife, 65, Betsy, who passed away from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

Emma, whose husband, Bruce, has been diagnosed with aphasia and later frontotemporal dementia (FTD), insisted there is “some learning” from the tragic events as she pointed out the vital role carers play in relationships. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “Caregivers need care too. Period. Full stop”.

Reflecting on the tragic news, the Make Time Wellness Founder continued in a video: “So this is not something I would normally comment on, but I do really believe that there is some learning in this story”.

She added: “It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too and that they are vital, and that it is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person… I think that there’s this common misconception that like caregivers, they got it figured out. They got it covered. They’re good. I don’t subscribe to that. I think that we need to be showing up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person”.

Authorities were alerted to a possible emergency at the Hackmans ‘ home when a pest control worker contacted a neighbourhood security officer after receiving no response at the property. The officer saw the bodies through a window and called emergency services.

Gene was found in a mudroom at his home, while Betsy was discovered in a bathroom near a space heater and scattered pills, according to a search warrant affidavit. The couple’s dog, Zinna, was found deceased in a crate inside a closet, while two other dogs were found alive on the property. A necropsy is being conducted to determine the cause of Zinna’s death.

Gene, widely regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation, met Betsy while she was working part-time at a Los Angeles gym and pursuing a career in classical music. They moved in together in Santa Fe in 1990 and married the following year.

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