Paul Danan is writing a television drama that he says will be the new ‘Orange Is The New Black’ and inspired by his own experiences of rehab.
The former ‘Hollyoaks’ actor has had several stints in rehab, first for cocaine abuse and later on for addiction to prescription pain medication, but is now clean and credits the work of the doctors and therapists who treated him with saving his life.
During his last spell in rehab, Paul began penning a script for a drama based on his own experiences and the "characters" you meet in rehab and he is now completing the story with his friend and playwright Michael Head so it is ready to pitch to TV companies.
Speaking on his podcast ‘The Morning After’, Paul – who was also a contestant on the first ever series of ‘Love Island’ in 2005 – said: "So I’ve had this idea. I’ve been to so many rehabs and every time I went to a treatment centre I saw the characters; I saw the doctors and the nurses and the staff and the therapists and the patients. The clients come in and they’re so battered and bruised and they’re hanging on a loose thread, then three months later or a month later they’re walking out a completely different person, brand new, healthy, beautiful looking, a completely different person. It’s an amazing thing to watch and everyone’s a character and everyone’s talented or very artistic. I just started writing this script when I was in rehab because I was so bored, I’ve been in them so many times and for so long, I was just sitting in my bedroom and I was thinking about all these characters coming in and out and I started writing this story. I want to make a drama that is like ‘Orange Is The New Black’ but is about rehab.
"Rehab saved my life. Anyone that knows about addiction and knows about metal health will be able to empathise."
Paul Danan creating TV series inspired by his rehab stays
