Brighton is one of Britain’s coolest cities and it’s one of the many reasons that some of the world’s biggest celebrities have chosen to make Brighton their home. It’s also a “YouTube” hub that brings would-be YouTubers and some big names on the online video site to Brighton as well. See how many you recognize on our list.
Our 20 celebrities living it large in Brighton, UK are:
- Alfie Deyes
- Captain Sensible
- Cate Blanchett
- Chris Eubank
- Chris Eubank Jr.
- David Gilmour
- David Walliams
- Norman Cook / Fatboy Slim
- Heather Mills
- Julian Clary
- Ken Livingstone
- Nick Berry
- Nick Cave
- Peter Andre
- Peter James
- PewDiePie
- Robin Cousins
- Stephen Tompkinson
- Zoe Ball
- Zoella
Brighton Has always attracted creative, highly talented and entertaining people, You can tell that by the large number of Blue Plaques in Brighton and Hove. But, also a large number of celebrities have been born and made in Brighton. There must be something in the water.
Alfie Deyes – YouTube Star
The Pointless Blog is what brought Alfie Deyes his fame on YouTube, where he has over 5 million subscribers. He has two other channels on the platform as well and each have over 2 million subscribers and his Instagram and Twitter feeds are no less popular.
He has also published a series of “The Pointless Book” (nobody said YouTubers were overflowing with imagination, right?). He was part of the Band-Aid 30 group singing “Do they know it’s Christmas?”, all over again, in 2014 too.
He is also in a relationship with Brighton’s biggest female celebrity blogger – Zoe Sugg and they live together in a modest, umm, seven-bedroom home in the North end of Brighton. I’ve seen him a few times around town, funny enough always in restaurants, once in Eatalio, Pret (Pret a Manger) and Wagamamas. I’ll get a picture next time.
Captain Sensible – Pop Star
Captain Sensible began celebrity life in the punk rock band The Damned which he co-founded. Then he went for a pop-friendly feel in his solo career and his songs include the classic “Happy Talk” which you can watch on YouTube below.
His cover of “The Snooker Song” which was written by Mike Batt for “The Hunting of the Snark” (the musical) was adopted by the BBC TV game show Big Break. His own song, “Brain’s Theme” was the them tune to the move Skinned Deep.
His distinctive appearance includes a red beret may help you understand his membership of the “Blah!” political party. Which stands for “venting dissatisfaction with everything in everyday British life”. Seriously.
Cate Blanchett – Actress
Catherine Elise Blanchett, which is her full name, is one of Australia’s best-known and best-loved actresses. She’s won two Academy Awards, three Baftas and so many others that it would be impossible to list them all here. You can see her win an Oscar in the clip below:
She was one of the Top 100 best-paid actresses in the world in 2018. Her most recent role, at the time of writing, was in Where’d You Go, Bernadette? But she’s also been in Thor: Ragnarök, How To Train Your Dragon, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and much more.
Cate is involved in charitable work and often speaks on issues dear to her heart and is a big advocate for feminism and all sorts of progressive political standpoints including the Carbon Tax.
Chris Eubank – Boxer
His bizarre personality and personal affectations make Chris Eubank one of Britain’s most liked boxing celebrities. Between 1990 and 1995, Chris held the World Boxing Organization’s Middleweight and Super-Middleweight titles. He is considered to be one of the all-time greats in his weight class.
His big fights with Michael Watson and Nigel Benn cemented his reputation for courage and endurance in the ring. You can see some of the highlights of Chris’s fight with Nigel Benn above:
Chris is still often seen around town, but no longer in the large black truck that he used to own, and was locally famous for parking on double yellow lines. Today he is more often seen on a bike along the seafront. Or dressed to the nines around town. He’s a very approachable down to earth guy, and enjoys people approaching him for small talk and selfies.
Chris Eubanks Junior – Boxer
It might feel like cheating to include Chris Eubanks’ son and it would be if Chris Eubanks Jr. wasn’t such a chip off the old block. In fact that last comment doesn’t do Chris Eubanks Junior justice. Chris won the Internal Boxing Organization’s Super-Middleweight Title in February of 2019 and he’s held the WBA interim title as well as the British middleweight title. He’s considered to be, currently, the second-best middleweight in the world by BoxRec too.
He’s only lost 2 fights out of 30 in his professional career and both were by decision rather than knockout.
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) – Musician
David Gilmour a the world-famous guitarist and one of the most important members of Pink Floyd and after Roger Waters left, its leader. They have sold over 250 million albums worldwide and are one of the most critically and publicly acclaimed acts of all time.
David has also released four solo albums that have also done very well and is considered by Rolling Stone magazine to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
The Youtube video above shows him in a rehearsal in The King Alfred Center on the West side of Brighton city, just minutes from his home on Hove seafront.
David Walliams – Comedian, Actor, Writer
David Edward Walliams, OBE, is one of the UK’s best-known comedic actors. He’s also one of the most successful children’s authors (though he’s not quite in J K Rowling’s league, he has sold over 25 million copies!) in the land.
I Took Alice, my goddaughter to see his ‘Awful auntie’ that was being performed at the Theatre Royal in Brighton and It did keep both children and adults highly entertained, We loved it.
He came to fame through his work with Matt Lucas and, in particular, in the TV show Little Britain which may be fashionable to deride in certain circles today, but it was considered to be the funniest show on TV when it aired.
He does tireless amounts of charity work when he’s not writing or on the TV and he swam the length of the River Thames for Sport Relief and raised more than £2 million in the process.
Fatboy Slim – DJ
Amusingly, Fatboy Slim (real name Norman Cook) is often described as Brighton’s best-known resident but we don’t think the DJ has as much name recognition as some of the biggest names on this list (well of younger generations). Nonetheless, he’s a Brighton heavyweight in my mind and has been in the city for so long that it could be said he is one of its cornerstones.
He was originally the bass player in the UK band The Housemartins before forming Beats International who had the big hit “Dub Be Good To Me,” Then in 1996, he took the name Fatboy Slim and became the leader of the “big beat” genre.
He holds the peculiar distinction of a Guinness World Record for the most Top 40 hits held under different names! as well as having the world’s largest collection of smiley faces. With that in mind, if you pan Google maps on satellite mode for long enough, you will find his house.
Heather Mills – Model
Heather Mills was a famous model and then she married Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles and became one of Britain’s most infamous women. Their marriage ended in a certain amount of bitterness and she has been soundly criticized by the media and the public.
Heather continues to do great work for charities promoting the vegan diet and opposing animal cruelty. Her Vegan restaurant VBites was originally based in Hove but is now in East Street in Brighton.
Julian Clary – Comedian
Not just famous but infamous, Julian Clary was once Britain’s fastest rising star and then he made a joke about the Tory politician, Norman Lamont live on national TV and it was probably about 200 years too soon to do so.
He sadly disappeared from the limelight for a while and then was finally “forgiven” by the establishment and has only fairly recently, returned to the mainstream.
He began his career in stand-up comedy, before moving to TV in the last 80s, then “that joke” happened in 1993 and he was left out of things completely until 1998. Now, he does stand-up (his last major tour was 2 years ago), TV and appears regularly on the stage where his next performance will be in The Dresser in 2020.
Ken Livingstone – Politician
There was a time if you wanted to scare a Tory supporter, you didn’t whisper Jeremy Corbyn at them, you shouted Ken Livingstone, instead. “Red Ken” as he was famously known was the former leader of the Greater London Council and then the mayor of London from 2000 until 2008.
He is loathed by the establishment but loved by London and the left. He has been an outspoken opponent of everything from Margaret Thatcher to austerity and he is, generally, perceived by the public as slightly whacky but sincere.
However, one thing that isn’t in keeping with his left-wing nature, is his second home in Brighton. Yes, Ken may not approve of the property-owning classes, but he’s already joined them and enjoys a trip to the beach just like the rest of us.
His big fall from grace didn’t come from his home though, it came from his inability to stop making anti-Semitic remarks in public. He’s been on the outside looking in ever since.
Nick Berry – Actor And Singer
One of Britain’s big names, during the 1980s and 1990s, was Nick Berry who was both an actor and a mildly successful pop star thanks to two big chart hits. His big break came when he joined the cast of EastEnders as Simon “Wicksy” Wicks and from 1985 to 1990, Nick became one of Britain’s big sensations with a certain section of the female TV audience.
He left EastEnders to record an album and his song “Every Loser Wins” (see above) went to number one. Then he returned to the show before leaving in 1990. In 1992, he became the big star of “Heartbeat” an ITV police drama and not only did he sing the theme tune, but it reached the number two slot in the charts as well!
His next series Harbour Lights wasn’t quite such a hit though and it fizzled after a couple of seasons. Today, he runs a production company called Valentine Productions and lives in Brighton on the same coastal road at Fatboy slim and David Walliams.
Nick Cave – Musician[NB1]
Kylie Minogue’s favourite musician is Nick Cave and despite hailing from Australia, he’s based in Brighton. He is most famous as the lead singer of his band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds but he’s a hugely talented entertainer with a very broad repertoire of skills including acting, writing, composing and occasionally getting into trouble.
He began his career with The Birthday Party which would become known for being the “most violent live band on earth”.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is a long way from the goth rock of The Birthday Party and has a clear American Deep South influence on its bluesy rock.
He has written the score for many films with his friend Warren Ellis, including for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Lawless and Hell or High Water.
Cave’s time in Brighton has recently been overshadowed by the tragic death of his son, Arthur, who fell off of a cliff on the outskirts of the city and he has indicated his desire to leave the city at times. But I’m glad he’s still stayed a resident.
Peter Andre – Singer/Song Writer
His massive hit single, “Mysterious Girl” would probably have been the most notable thing about Peter Andre if he hadn’t married local Brighton girl, Katie Price, Britain’s most infamous and notorious model.
That short-lived relationship clearly endeared Peter to the city because while he may have moved on from Katie, he’s still in the city. Sadly, for him, his career appears to have moved on without him in the last decade or so.
His last major role in public was as a contestant in 2015’s Strictly Come Dancing and otherwise he’s had some very “bit part” appearances on various TV shows. You can probably expect a “comeback” tour soon or later.
Peter James – Author
He may have been born in Brighton but to leave Peter James off this list would have been a travesty. The city’s world-famous writer sets many of his books in Brighton and has sold over 30 million copies of his thrillers worldwide.
His character Detect Superintendent Roy Grace is also based out of Brighton.
When he’s not writing books, Peter James is writing for the movies or producing movies and he has over 26 credits to his name! He is also a patron of many local charities and institutions and has donated two police cars to Sussex Police!
PewDiePie – YouTube Star
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, AKA PewDiePie, AKA “Pewds” to his legions of fans is the biggest YouTube star in the world. His channel has over 102 million subscribers, he has been watched over 23 billion times and his channel is now the second most subscribed in history!
Time Magazine calls him one of the 100 most influential people on earth and there’s no doubt that the Swede is the Internet’s first-ever megastar.
He moved to Brighton sensing its potential as a YouTube hub and everyone who is anyone in British YouTube has followed. PewDiePie is quite possibly the city’s biggest celebrity arrival.
Robin Cousins – Ice Skater
One of the most famous ice skaters of all time is Robin Cousins. He won the Olympic gold in 1980, has been a three-time world champion, a European champion, a four-time British champion and he did all of this… as an amateur skater!
You’ll have seen him more recently when he was fronting up the BBC show Dancing on Ice and he is regularly on the stage in London’s West End.
We’d also like to point out his charity work for the local charity Starr Trust as well as being a major patron of Meningitis UK.
Stephen Tompkinson – Actor
Stephen Philip Tompkinson is one of those British actors that seems to have been in everything. He’s appeared in Chancer, Drop the Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Grafters, Wild at Heart and has starred as Alan Banks in the recent DCI Banks series. He’s also been in Brassed Off and Hotel Splendide.
When he’s not working as an actor, he’s also presenting, doing narration (he’s done everything from adverts to audiobooks), directing and even on the stage (where he regularly gets great reviews).
If that wasn’t enough, he’s done a lot of work for many different charities and is regularly involved in the country’s biggest fundraisers.
The Levellers – Rock Band
The Levellers were a huge hit on the underground circuit when they began their career in 1988 and would end up headlining Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in 1994 where they got a chance to play to 300,000 people!
They are still recording and touring today but when they’re not on the road they’re hanging out in Brighton where they own a recording studio.
Zoe Ball – Entertainer
Zoe was the first female host on The Radio 1 Breakfast Show and not content with that, she took over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show and was the first female host there too. She’s been a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and has also hosted the show.
She was married to another star on our list, Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), but the couple quietly separated in 2017 though they are still friends and still live very close to each other in Brighton.
In March 2018, Zoe cycled from Blackpool to Brighton across the course of 5 days to raise money for Sport Relief. The challenge brought in over £1 million for the charity!
Zoella – YouTube Star
Last on our list by dint of the alphabet, is Zoella but Zoe Elizabeth Sugg is by no means least. Her debut novel Girl Online was a record-breaker for the highest first-week sales of a debut novelist back in 2014.
She lives with Alfie Deyes, the first star on our list, and they may be Brighton’s biggest power couple between them.
She’s certainly the biggest star in their relationship with an incredible 11.6 million subscribers to her YouTube channel. At the age of 29, Zoella is probably the most successful female YouTube star in the UK.
Conclusion
Brighton is awesome. It has a beach, museums, art galleries, concert halls, a tolerant environment, close proximity to London and a whole lot more going for it. That’s reflected, in turn, by the amazing people who have moved to the city and as you can see from our list – that includes some of the biggest stars in the world.
