Former Hollyoaks actor Paul Danan was reportedly living in a ‘ sober house ‘ before his tragic death.
The Celebrity Love Island star sadly passed away at the age of 46 on January 15, and today, his cause of death has been revealed. The star died from a toxic drug cocktail, made up of “heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, with a secondary contributory finding of benzodiazepine”, an inquest heard.
At the hearing, it was revealed that Paul’s partner, Melissa Crooks, formally identified his body to paramedics and police at the scene. He was declared deceased by paramedics upon arrival. The father-of-one, described as a “beacon of light” by his management, is survived by his loved ones and nine-year-old son, Deniro.
Paul rose to fame on the Channel 4 soap playing Sol Patrick between 1997 and 2001, and then went on to appear on reality TV shows Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother. It was previously reported that Paul ‘ slipped and fell ‘ in his luxury apartment near Bristol. His death was not treated as suspicious by authorities.
Mail Online reported that Paul had been staying in the apartment block to try and get clean from drugs. 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. The Grade II listed property has a swimming pool, gym and tennis court.
His neighbours told the publication that Paul “kept himself to himself” in his first-floor, one-bedroom apartment, and they thought he lived there alone. One resident said: “I didn’t know he was famous, I don’t think anyone living here knew who he was until he died. His family has been here since and asked us not to say anything”.
Paul was due to appear in court over driving and drug offences the day his death was announced. He was set to enter a plea at Warrington Magistrates Court in Cheshire after being charged with being in possession of several bags of cocaine as well as a ‘ quantity ‘ of cannabis. He was also accused of driving a vehicle whilst under the influence of drugs in October in Warrington.
Just a week before his death, the actor had taken to social media platform Instagram to act out a Shakespeare scene. Along with a video of his impressive scene work, he wrote: “Audition for A Twelfth Night to play Orsino. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone near a bit of the master that is our pioneer Sir William Shakespeare.
” You forget what a genius he really was and remember how beautiful and exhilarating it is when you get stuck into tackling his work. It’s an amazing experience! I forget sometimes how much I need to be awoken… #twelfthnight #stafford #shakespeare. “The recital was applauded by his friend Calum Best, and fans said in the comments that” he’s still got it “and” awesome”.
Paul is understood to have been put forward for Celebs Go Dating and was said to have been” feeling optimistic “about his future. The actor, who suffered two near-death experiences before he died, had been very candid about the ups and downs of his career. Months before his death, Paul discussed how he ended up working in a phone shop after the offers dried up.
On a podcast in November, he said:” It’s very tough. I mean, maybe years ago, I shouldn’t have left Hollyoaks, but I made that decision because, after four years, I didn’t want to be typecast and back then, everyone didn’t want to be the next Ken Barlow. You wanted to go off and play different roles, especially when you’re a real actor. “
Paul explained how starring in reality shows led to the demise of his career. He said:” It was a detriment to my acting career because it didn’t help. Maybe if I had stayed in the background and didn’t make a big splash, I would probably have been alright. But you know me, if I’m on a show, I’m going to give it my all and be TV gold! It didn’t help with my acting career because suddenly people were like ‘ Oh, we don’t want to hire a reality star! ‘ “
*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.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply