Hollyoaks and reality TV star Paul Danan said rabbis would “bow down” to him due to his relation to a Jewish prophet and Morocco’s chief rabbi in a podcast recorded before his death.
Danan, who died last month aged 46, explained how he had wished to get married in the Aben Danan Synagogue in Fes, Morocco, where only members of his family were allowed to do so, while speaking on the Outlet Ten Discussions mental health podcast.
He said: “My great, great, great, great grandfather, we have a museum, he was the chief rabbi of Morocco.
“He was unbelievable, and we’re related to this prophet, and his name is the Rambam.
“He was a lawyer, a psychiatrist, something like a doctor, and all these other things.
“But he was also a bit cheeky, he did whatever he did to get things, and we’re talking like hundreds of years ago, but to be related to him is the most incredible thing.
“So when I see a rabbi and they know I’m related, they literally bow down to me, and I’m like ‘what are you doing?'”
Danan went on to explain that he was invited to a rabbi’s home in Golders Green in London, where he put on a dinner in honour of him.
He continued: “I went to the Danan synagogue, and I asked them there, I said, ‘if I found someone, could I get married here?’, because it’s not a place for people to get married.
“And he went, ‘because you’re Danan you can’, and I thought to myself ‘one day, if I do meet (a girl), I’m going to bring her here, we’re going to get married at this synagogue’.
“Because, oh my god, it’s like a museum, it’s incredible, and it’s all my favourite colour, like a turquoise blue.”
On Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, Danan played bad boy Sol Patrick from 1997 to 2001 and was later known for his reality TV appearances, including on Celebrity Coach Trip, Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island.
He told the podcast he had “quit reality TV” having felt “exploited” in the past, but went on to say that if he was offered £10,000 he probably would still do a show.
Danan explained: “Some of it’s alright, but when it’s voting, or when they’re telling you who to talk to, who to argue with, who to love, no way.
“But back then (in the early days of reality TV), it was the real reality, it’s unreality now.
“They left you to do whatever and they edited 24 hours into one hour, and they got the best, because it was natural, it was organic.”
He said his time on Hollyoaks was the “hardest, most amazing, rewarding job ever” but said he was initially upset the show “never asked me back”.
Danan added: “I was upset at first, but actually I got it, because I know that they knew I wasn’t always that great, and maybe they were worried.
“I don’t f****** know the reason, they kept saying, ‘oh, there’s no storyline’, in the end I stopped asking, knocking on the door, and it’s like listen, that’s done.”
During his life, the star had been open about his struggles with addiction, entering rehab and trying to recover.
Danan died the day before he was due to appear for a plea hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court after being charged with being in possession of several bags of cocaine and a “quantity” of cannabis, according to court documents.
He was also accused of driving whilst under the influence of drugs on October 2 last year, in Warrington, Cheshire.
The full interview can be heard on the Outlet Ten Discussions podcast available on Spotify.
