THESE are some of the emotional final voice notes left by Paul Danan that reveal his addiction torment and incredible recovery in the years before he died.
Hollyoaks legend Paul, who passed away this week, was remembered as a kind and hilarious man who battled personal struggles but left a lasting impact on those around him, including fellow entertainer Dapper Laughs.
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They worked together on a West End play in 2020, and became close pals in Paul’s final years.
Dapper Laughs, real name Daniel O’Reilly, shared voice messages from Paul that revealed their common struggles and the amazing support offered by the late Love Island star.
In one, Paul said: “My brother, just thought I’d touch base really see how you are, how you’re feeling. All that jazz. Your therapist Pauly is here.”
Dapper replied, confessing: “I’m fighting a similar to what you’ve been fighting for years, the self-destructive stuff. From the point that we’re rehearsing, I wanna go completely sober, no booze, nothing.”
“So so happy. I know that. I know, I know Dan, I know, I know you are. I know you’re one of us,” Paul said.
“I knew it the minute we left and you were like, ‘Let’s go and have a beer.’
“That’s me, that’s f*****g me. Don’t you think I wanted to?
I don’t anymore because I know that I don’t need it.
“We don’t need it. Look at us on the couch. We’re the best of ourselves.
“We’re dynamic, buzzing, brilliant. We don’t need any of that s**t.
“We’re better, we’re the best of ourselves without it.
“With it, it makes us weaker. It makes us less than what we were meant to be.”
Daniel also spoke about his grief, opening up about their close friendship and Paul’s profound influence on his life.
He told his followers: “I don’t normally comment on people passing away, but I really wanted to say a few words about Paul.
“It’s upset me today hearing about him passing. He helped me, and he was so nice to me. He was my pal.”
In the post Daniel revealed how Paul supported him during his darkest times, even helping him acknowledge his own issues with addiction.
He said: “Paul actually helped me change my life.
“People close to me obviously had said that I had a drink problem back in the day, but he was the first person to really put a label on it and introduced me to what that was
The pair had bonded during rehearsals for a West End play they performed in together, with Dapper recounting one of their funniest memories.
He went on: “I’ll tell you a couple of funny things, when we were rehearsing for the West End play that we did together, we actually had to go to The Priory, his rehab, he was in rehab, and we had to go into The Priory to rehearse with him
“Every time I walked in, I’d shout, ‘Where’s the bar?’ He’d get the hump, but then he’d laugh because he had such a wicked sense of humour.”
Dapper also shared how Paul relied on him to help get into character for his role.
He said: “He’d come running into my dressing room saying, ‘Geezer me up!’ He wanted to be a proper geezer, so I’d hype him up, and he’d repeat it back.
“Once, on the last night, I messed with him and planted something silly in his head just to wind him up before he went onstage.”
Dapper described their shared struggles with mental health and addiction saying they both had their battles, but” leaned on each other.”
He said: “When I finally admitted I had a problem and wanted to go sober, Paul took me under his wing.
“He showed me the ropes and introduced me to meetings. He made the process a hell of a lot easier for me.”
Dapper admitted Paul’s regular texts and quotes could get “annoying” but said he’ll miss them.
He said: “At the time, they were a bit annoying, but now I think, ‘It’s a shame I won’t get those texts anymore. They were nice.”
Dapper signed off with: “RIP Paul. Love you, mate.”
