YOUTUBERS from United Kingdom

Top 8

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary British Youtubers of all time. This list of famous British Youtubers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Daniel Howell (1991 - )

With an HPI of 34.26, Daniel Howell is the most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Daniel James Howell (born 11 June 1991) is an English YouTuber, presenter, comedian and author. He gained prominence through his YouTube channels Daniel Howell (formerly known as danisnotonfire), which reached over six million subscribers, and DanAndPhilGAMES. Together with frequent collaborator Phil Lester, Howell presented the Sunday night entertainment show Dan and Phil on BBC Radio 1 from January 2013 until August 2014, and the station's Internet Takeover slot from September 2014 until April 2016.

2. KSI (1993 - )

With an HPI of 28.76, KSI is the 2nd most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), known professionally as KSI, is an English social media influencer, professional boxer, and musician. He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing and the co-owner of Prime Hydration, XIX Vodka, Sidemen Clothing, restaurant chain Sides and cereal brand Best Breakfasts. He registered his main YouTube channel in 2009 and has since built a following posting gaming commentary videos of the FIFA video game series. His content later diversified to include vlog and comedy-style videos. As of October 2022, he has over 41 million subscribers and over 10 billion video views across his three YouTube channels. He featured in the British comedy film Laid in America in 2016 and was the subject of KSI: Can't Lose in 2018, a documentary film following the build-up to his first boxing match, and KSI: In Real Life in 2023, an Amazon Prime Video documentary film following his life from June 2021 to October 2022. His debut studio album, Dissimulation, was released in 2020 and debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. His second studio album, All Over the Place, was released in 2021 and debuted at number 1. He has achieved fourteen top 40 singles on the UK Singles Chart, seven of them ending up in the Top 10 and five of them ending up in the Top 5. He was involved in a white-collar boxing match against Joe Weller in February 2018. Two further boxing events against American YouTuber Logan Paul took place, the second of which was a professional bout in which he won via split decision in November 2019. In August 2022, he fought two people in the same night, defeating rapper Swarmz and professional boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda. In 2023, he fought FaZe Temperrr in January, Joe Fournier in May and Tommy Fury in October, which he lost via unanimous decision.

3. Paul Joseph Watson (1982 - )

With an HPI of 27.60, Paul Joseph Watson is the 3rd most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Paul Joseph Watson (born 24 May 1982) is a British right-wing YouTuber, radio host, and conspiracy theorist. Until July 2016, Watson embraced the label "alt-right", but he now identifies as part of the New Right. In May 2019, Facebook and Instagram permanently banned Watson for violation of hate speech policies. Watson's career emerged through his work for conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones. As editor-at-large of Jones' website InfoWars, he helped promote fake news and advocated for 9/11, chemtrail, and New World Order conspiracy theories. Subsequently, reaching a significant audience, both Watson and Jones altered their focus. They now mainly criticise feminism, Islam, and left-wing politics. Watson also contributes to InfoWars's talk radio program The Alex Jones Show, which he occasionally hosts or co-hosts. Watson has been working at InfoWars since October 2002. Since 2011, Watson has hosted his own YouTube channel, prisonplanetlive, on which he expresses his views on topics such as contemporary society, politics, and modern liberalism in an often mocking manner. He rose to prominence on his YouTube channel by criticizing and mocking the "woke mob", social justice warriors, feminism and anti-racist movements. As of May 2023, his channel has over 1.9 million subscribers.

4. Zoella (1990 - )

With an HPI of 22.75, Zoella is the 4th most famous British Youtuber.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Zoë Elizabeth Sugg (born 28 March 1990), also known by her online name Zoella, is an English media personality, entrepreneur and author. She began her career as a YouTuber in 2009 and has since amassed over 10 million subscribers. In 2014, Sugg launched her Zoella Beauty range of cosmetics and later launched a range of complementary homeware products, with a 2019 report stating that the two businesses had a combined revenue of £3.8 million per year. Her debut novel, Girl Online, was published in November 2014 and broke the record for highest first-week sales of a first-time novelist. She has since released two sequels and a non-fiction book, Cordially Invited, and later co-wrote the book duology The Magpie Society with Amy McCulloch.

5. Phil Lester (1987 - )

With an HPI of 18.48, Phil Lester is the 5th most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Philip Michael Lester (born 30 January 1987) is an English YouTuber and radio host. He is best known for his YouTube channels AmazingPhil, which gained over 4 million subscribers, and DanAndPhilGAMES. Together with frequent collaborator Daniel Howell, he presented the Sunday night entertainment show Dan and Phil on BBC Radio 1 from January 2013 until August 2014, and from September 2014 to April 2016 the duo were monthly hosts on the station's The Internet Takeover slot. Lester appeared on The Sunday Times’ 2019 list of the top influencers in the UK.

6. Charlie McDonnell (1990 - )

With an HPI of 16.03, Charlie McDonnell is the 6th most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Charlie McDonnell (born 1 October 1990) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, musician, former vlogger, author and Twitch streamer from Bath, Somerset. On 15 June 2011, her YouTube channel charlieissocoollike became the first in the United Kingdom to reach one million subscribers. As a musician, McDonnell was a member of Doctor Who–themed rock band Chameleon Circuit and was also a member of the short-lived project Sons of Admirals until it was disbanded in May 2011. In 2010, McDonnell released a solo album titled This Is Me. She also directed a series of short films from 2013 to 2014, and co-hosted the weekday morning YouTube breakfast show Cereal Time with Capital FM presenter and fellow YouTube vlogger Jimmy Hill from 2015 to 2016. In 2016, she published a book, Fun Science. After over a decade of regular uploads, McDonnell ended her YouTube career in December 2018 and moved on to screenwriting and television production duties. Her first series, the science fiction drama Don't Look Deeper, was released on the streaming platform Quibi in July 2020. McDonnell creates content on Twitch, where she plays different games while interacting with her chat.

7. Joe Sugg (1991 - )

With an HPI of 15.73, Joe Sugg is the 7th most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Joseph Graham Sugg (born 8 September 1991) is an English YouTuber and actor. In 2012, he began posting videos on the YouTube channel ThatcherJoe, currently at over 7 million subscribers. In 2018, he was a finalist on the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, and in 2019, he portrayed Ogie Anhorn in the West End production of Waitress. He is the younger brother of fellow YouTuber Zoe Sugg.

8. Caspar Lee (1994 - )

With an HPI of 11.99, Caspar Lee is the 8th most famous British Youtuber.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Caspar Richard George Lee (born 24 April 1994) is a British-South African YouTuber and investor. He was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 for his work in media and advertising.