Paul Danan's heartbroken brother reveals star's tragic drugs relapse weeks before his death

Paul Danan’s brother has opened up about the huge void the star has left in his life – and how he plans to keep the actor’s name alive in his memory. star passed away in January aged 46 after struggling with addiction for decades. The opening of his inquest found he’d died from a cocktail of drugs.

A larger than life character, he left his mark on the telly , on the soap as Sol Patrick as well 's Celebrity and Celebrity in 2017. Jamie, Paul’s big brother, paid tribute to his “sweetheart” brother, as he gets ready to honour him at a charity football match this weekend organised by Fattys Bar in Essex. “He was a sweet, lovely guy,” said Jamie. “He drove me mad sometimes but I loved him so much.

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“He was just a genuine sweetheart. There was less than two years between us. It's kind of like losing my twin. It’s still raw. I’m genuinely very broken by this, I'm not gonna lie. It's just surreal.”

A full inquest into his death starts on Wednesday.

With his family and friends still coming to terms with his death, Jamie hopes the football match, renamed The Paul Danan Memorial Charity Cup, with give them the chance to share some heartwarming stories about the much-loved star. Pals like favourite and star will be there to lend their support.

“He was such a funny bloke and we've all got so many funny stories about him,” said music PR boss Jamie, 48. “People will be sharing their anecdotes and all uniting over our love of Paul.”

Sharing one of his own favourite stories about his “charming” brother, Jamie recalled a hilarious encounter with the brothers on a flight from LA to the UK, which saw them have a “banter-off”.

“We’d been to and Paul being Paul managed to sort of get us upgraded to first class on the way back,” remembered Jamie. “Unbeknownst to us was the Oasis boys were in first class, and we'd seen them the night before headlining the festival.

"We were just chatting music. pipes up, and and me and Paul... So it was like the Danans with the Gallaghers, getting into a little bit of a banter off. It was north meets south. We were being a bit loud and brash in first class. They knew Paul. It was good fun. Something mad like that would always happen with Paul.”

Jamie says he could always depend on Paul for a great time. Every year the pair would go to , with “King of the blag” Paul even trying his luck to play in the prestigious tennis tournament.

“Paul being Paul, he used to go off and find the Lawn Tennis Association office,” smiled Jamie. “He'd go up and say, ‘I need to know my ranking, I'm semi-pro’ because he joined a club. He be like ‘What time am I playing on court one?’

“He was just absolutely mad. I can't tell you some of the blagging techniques, how we got front row at most things. He was the King of the blag. It was just always very exciting being with him. I’ll be going again this year and it'll be very sad not to go with him.”

Recalling one of the last nights out they shared together, the brothers danced the night away to Paul’s favourite band, , just weeks before his death. In December they went to see them a Brixton Academy and Jamie said he was on top form.

“I had probably my best night out with him,” recalls Jamie. “He was totally clean. He was very close with Liam from Prodigy. He was sort of like an honorary member in some ways. They always used to let him go to like side the stage and just hang out. He just loved that band.”

Jamie holds on to the memories with a heavy heart. “It was amazing,” he says. “But, sadly, he couldn't maintain his clean time.”

Paul had openly discussed previous issues with drugs, including addictions to cocaine and codeine, which he said he used to "self-soothe" after losing acting parts in his 20s while in the US. He also said that he had spent more than £1m on rehab over the years.

After years of sobriety and being clean, by , Paul was taking drugs again, much to Jamie’s dismay. “I had a little go at him, like a big brother would do,” admits Jamie. “It's frustrating, but it is how it is. I thought that he'd bounce back again, as he always tended to. But it just wasn't to be this time, unfortunately.”

Jamie looks back at their childhood and brotherly bond with “a lot of fondness and love”, but also sadness that his brother couldn’t conquer his demons. “He was troubled and underneath it all, he found things difficult which is why he relied on drink and drugs,” said Jamie. “That pressure was just taken off him in the end. He certainly didn't mean to die. Just whatever happened, happened, unfortunately.

“The overriding feeling is nothing but love and joy that he brought us. But there was some pain and suffering. I think anyone with addiction in the family will comprehend that. There was always the hope that he would overcome it, and he would get himself well. He certainly wanted to. You know, that illness is very powerful. And in the end it just got the better of him.”

Jamie has been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support since Paul’s death - and the amazing stories people share about Paul’s kindness. One in particular struck him, the impact Paul had on a former addict who attended his drama class.

In 2020, he started a drama workshop, Morning After Drama, which grew from online sessions during the pandemic to workshops in London, Oxford and the South West for adults with mental health or addiction issues, or who have been through trauma or been in prison.

At Paul’s funeral, someone who’d been to the classes approached Jamie and told him how Paul had helped him. ”He explained how he was really at death's door, his illness and addiction was horrific,” recounted Jamie. “No-one could get him out of the funk he was in. Until he ended up going to Paul’s class. Somehow Paul connected with him. This guy has been able to build his confidence through these improvisational techniques that Paul was using.”

Jamie says he’s now leading Paul’s classes in Weston-Super-Mare. “He’s been determined to keep it alive and going,” he went on. “He's basically keeping Paul’s memory alive, Paul's technique of studying and training, which was his own inimitable style of fusing sort of recovery and rehabilitation with drama and acting. There's still a little flame of it going.”

As well as raising vital funds with The Paul Danan Memorial Charity Cup for the Little Havens Children’s Hospice, Jamie is also in talks for a project to continue the actor’s legacy. “There's also a TV show idea that he had, which is really, really strong,” teased Jamie. “We might be able to do something with that eventually. There are some big names who said ‘If you get that off the ground, I’d be part of that. For Paul. We loved him’. It’s sort of a semi-autobiographical, it would be very cool.

“There’s a few things in the pipeline to continue his legacy.”

The Paul Danan Memorial Charity Cup, Saturday, at Bowers & Pitsea FC Crown Avenue, Basildon. Kick off 3pm (Gates open at 1.45pm). After Party is at Fattys Bar 20 High Street Essex from 6pm. .

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