The death of Paul Danan, best known for his role in Hollyoaks, was announced earlier today, with the actor leaving behind his nine-year-old son DeNiro.
Paul rose to fame as a teen actor with his role as Sol Patrick on the Channel 4 soap. He would later appear in hit reality shows such as Celebrity Love Island, Celebrity Big Brother and Come Dine With Me.
Paul mostly kept his private life under wraps. However, during his Celebrity Big Brother stint in 2017, he opened up about DeNiro’s mother, and often posted pictures of his little boy to social media…
Paul Danan and his relationship with son DeNiro
Actor Paul welcomed DeNiro in 2015. He shared his news with his followers on Twitter, as he revealed to the world that he had a baby boy.
His Instagram featured several pictures of DeNiro over the years. One of the first was of the tot as a newborn. He captioned the picture: “My beautiful little baby DeNiro Danan.”
My beautiful little baby DeNiro Danan!!! #1stPicOnLine
#BabyDanan #DananisBack #bigLuff pic.twitter.com/z5wFSOUAZ2— Paul Danan (@PaulyDanan) December 3, 2015
The late actor also posted a few pictures with a woman who appears to be the mother of his son. However, the account tagged in his posts has been taken down, so the identity of the person in his photos isn’t clear.
In one of the pictures, the same woman is seen holding DeNiro, while Paul’s caption wishes his son a “Happy Birthday”.
The Celebrity Big Brother star first opened up about his baby mama on the reality show when quizzed about his romantic life.
Asked about his love life, he said: “I’m with the mother of my child.”
His Instagram still features a few cosy pictures with the lady who appears to be DeNiro’s mother. In one of the snaps, the couple enjoyed watching the sun go down on Primrose Hill.
He captioned another shot of himself, the woman and baby DeNiro wearing a shirt and braces with the words: “Beautiful People!”
“Gorgeous family,” one follower commented underneath the picture.
Paul never revealed the identity of DeNiro’s mum. However, despite their relationship not working out, they continued to co-parent their son.
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‘The love of my life’
In more recent times, Paul had posted pictures of himself and DeNiro enjoy father/son days at the bowling alley.
One picture, taken at the end of 2023, saw the pair beaming widely as Paul told his followers: “I love spending time with my beautiful baby boy so much. We always enjoy our time @rollerbowl who absolutely adore him. Thanks to the manager Alfred for always looking after us.”
Weeks before, Paul and his little boy had been to Spain on holiday. Sharing a black-and-white pic, he said: “Me and Dee in Spain. So much fun.”
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He also shared a tribute on the little boy’s birthday in 2023. Posting a smiling picture of DeNiro, Paul said: “Happy Birthday to my most precious beautiful amazing child in the whole wide world! I love you so so so much and want to be with you every day and pls God one day we will. For now I will wish you the most amazing birthday wishes and hope all your dreams come true. I love you baby. Always and forever Daddy.”
He also called DeNiro “the love of his life”.
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Paul’s substance addiction
Paul was vocal about his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Calling himself an “addict”, the actor confessed that he started using substances when he was only 14. He even had a near-death experience once after overdosing on cocaine.
It’s about sustaining that recovery and not putting anything before that recovery – even my little boy.
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 him £1 million.
“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.
‘Precious’ family
The actor struggled with mental health issues and missing his son during the pandemic, though. At the time, he’d just been diagnosed with ADHD and lockdown took a toll. His son spending lockdown with his mum left Paul feeling as it he was “going mad” .
Speaking on his podcast at the time, he said: “I’ve got a tough situation going on. I’m not with my son because he is with his mum in Hertfordshire and I’m with my parents in Essex.
“If I go and see my son I can’t come back to my parents, because my dad has not been that well over the years. And my mum is really strict about it. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I’m going to get to see him.”
He continued: “He’s only four and we’ve got such a good bond. He’s like a little mini-me, and his mum is trying to explain that there’s this big bug going around, the big bad bug, but I don’t think he understands.
“But he kind of does, it’s so hard to explain this stuff to kids. I’m trying but it’s one thing he doesn’t really like, because he sees me and he wants to touch me.”
Come 2022, Paul told The Sun that giving up drugs had only strengthened the bond he shared with his son. “I see my son all the time and me and him are so close. All of this has taught me how precious family are,” he said.
‘Devastating’ DeNiro has ‘lost his daddy’
Following his death, a friend of the actor spoke to The Sun about Paul’s bond with DeNiro.
They said: “Paul adored his son DeNiro. There were a lot of things Paul wasn’t proud of in his life, but DeNiro was his proudest achievement. He loved being a dad, he was like a big kid himself at times, so he was a natural at being playful and fun with his boy.
“While he didn’t see him every day because he co-parented him with his ex, Paul always looked forward to his weekends spent on ‘Dad duty’. It’s devastating that DeNiro has lost his daddy at such a young age.”
Paul’s cause of death hasn’t been revealed.
Read more: Inside Paul Danan’s health issues – ‘respiratory failure’; heroin overdose; mental health struggles
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