Charlie McDonnell
Born (1990-10-01) 1 October 1990
Bath, Somerset, England
Known forVlogging, filmmaking, music, screenwriting, streaming
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2007–2018; 2023–present
Subscribers2.12 million[1]
Total views301 million; 1.2 million[1]
100,000 subscribers2011
1,000,000 subscribers2011
Last updated: 27 August 2021
Websitecharliemcdonnell.com

Charlie McDonnell (born 1 October 1990) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, musician, former vlogger, author and Twitch streamer from Bath, Somerset.[2] On 15 June 2011, her[lower-alpha 1] 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.[4] In 2016, she published a book, Fun Science.[5]

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.[6]

McDonnell creates content on Twitch, where she plays different games while interacting with her chat.

Early life

McDonnell was born and raised in Bath, Somerset to parents Lindsey and Mark.[2] She has two younger siblings: her brother, William, and her sister, Bridie. She was educated at Beechen Cliff School,[7] a local state comprehensive foundation school.

YouTube career

After setting up the YouTube channel, charlieissocoollike on 3 April 2007, McDonnell started posting video blogs (or vlogs) to a small audience. She first came to prominence when her video titled How To Get Featured on YouTube became popular after it was featured on YouTube's UK homepage. Her audience jumped from just under 150 subscribers to over 4,000 in two days.[8]

In January 2008, in celebration of gaining 25,000 subscribers, McDonnell asked for 25 challenge suggestions from subscribers, which sparked her series of Challenge Charlie videos. She completed all of these challenges by March 2013, one of which was suggested by TV presenter Phillip Schofield and his daughter Molly, challenging McDonnell to perform the dance that accompanies the song "Hoedown Throwdown" from Hannah Montana: The Movie.

In June 2011, McDonnell became the first YouTuber in the United Kingdom to reach 1 million subscribers, and in May 2013, her channel reached 2 million subscribers.[9] Most of McDonnell's videos end with an outro by Stephen Fry.[10] In 2014, McDonnell's YouTube Channel, charlieissocoollike, was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #63.[11]

On 6 March 2019, McDonnell announced on Twitter that she had quit YouTube to focus on screenwriting.[12] She currently streams on Twitch.[13]

In January 2023, McDonnell posted a YouTube video in which she discussed her life and said, "I'm a transgender woman, my pronouns are she/they, and I am continuing to use the name 'Charlie'". She also made all past videos on her YouTube channel private.[14]

Short films and screenwriting career

On 8 March 2013, McDonnell announced that she would be making five short films.[15] In a video published on 27 October 2014, she announced her last two films would actually be one film, split into two parts.[16]

Short films
Title Release date Writer(s) Producer Genre Ref.
The Tea Chronicles 23 May 2013 Charlie McDonnell and Khyan Mansley Matt Diegan Psychological horror comedy [17][18]
Offline 14 December 2013 Alan Flanagan and Charlie McDonnell Emily Diana Ruth Disaster comedy [19][20]
Strangers in a Bed 28 June 2014 Michael Aranda and Charlie McDonnell Emily Diana Ruth Western drama [21]
Our Brother 29–30 October 2014 Charlie McDonnell Emily Diana Ruth Drama [22][23]

On 27 July 2020, Don't Look Deeper, a 14-episode series co-created by McDonnell and Jeffrey Lieber, premiered on Quibi. McDonnell wrote several episodes of the series.[24]

Music career

Chameleon Circuit

McDonnell performing with Chameleon Circuit at VidCon 2011

McDonnell was one of the founding members of Chameleon Circuit, a band known for creating music inspired by the British television series Doctor Who. Along with fellow vloggers Alex Day (Nerimon on YouTube), Liam Dryden (Littleradge), and former member Chris Beattie (CowInParachute), Chameleon Circuit released their self-titled debut album on 1 June 2009.[25] In July 2010, their song Count the Shadows also appeared on DFTBA Records, Volume Two, a compilation sampler that was given for free in the grab bags at VidCon 2010.[26] At the beginning of 2011, Chameleon Circuit, in their new line-up following the departure of Beattie and the addition of Ed Blann and Michael Aranda, began work on their second album Still Got Legs. It was released on 12 July 2011.[27]

In 2014, McDonnell and Dryden publicly denounced members Blann and Day, who both suspended their online presence following separate reported incidents of sexual abuse.[28][29] McDonnell, Dryden and Aranda appeared together at VidCon 2014 for photo signings.[30] In 2017, Aranda wrote in a Reddit AMA that "it's safe to say that Chameleon Circuit is dead for now. I know that the last time Charlie and I spoke about it, [she] didn't feel interested in writing new music in general."[31]

Sons of Admirals

In 2010, McDonnell, along with three other YouTubers, Alex Day, Ed Blann and Tom Milsom ("Hexachordal") formed a new project titled "Sons of Admirals". Sons of Admirals was not a band in the traditional sense; they were all solo artists, but as well as having their solo careers, they came together to form one group. The idea and nominal inspiration for the band came from the Admiral's Men, which was a Shakespearean group of actors that came together to perform, whilst still retaining their individual careers.[32]

Their first single was released via YouTube on 14 June 2010 on McDonnell's channel: the group covered Cat Stevens' song "Here Comes My Baby", featuring all four members on vocals. The track peaked at No. 61 in the UK.[33] In October 2010 the band released an EP including "Here Comes My Baby"; an acoustic version of the same song; a cover of "Believe in Yourself", the theme of children's television show Arthur; the music video of "Here Comes My Baby"; and a behind-the-scenes video.[34] Sons of Admirals disbanded in May 2011, publishing a statement on their website that "the core goal of the group – to get into the charts, and to increase exposure for the group members' individual talents proved to run against too many of our beliefs and approaches to music and promotion".[35]

Solo career

A prominent feature of McDonnell's YouTube channel were the songs which she wrote and performed herself, usually on a ukulele. The most popular of these is "Duet with Myself."[36] On 1 December 2010, in response to demand, she released her debut album, entitled This Is Me, via DFTBA Records. The album features several songs from her channel that were remixed for the album, as well as several previously unreleased songs.[37] In December 2016, she teamed up with Project for Awesome to release A Very Gideon Christmas, an exclusive Christmas EP sung from the perspective of and with the imaginary inflections of her cat Gideon.[38][39]

Music videos

  • In The Absence Of Christmas (2008)
  • A Song About Acne (2009)
  • Duet with Myself (2009)
  • A Song About Love (2010)
  • Chemical Love (2010)
  • A Song About Monkeys (2010)
  • Time to Reply (2012)

Charity and media work

On 30 September 2008, to celebrate her 18th birthday, McDonnell and Alex Day dyed and then shaved their hair off whilst live on BlogTV for a period of seven and a half hours in aid of Cancer Research UK.[40] They managed to raise nearly £5000.[41] The broadcast viewership peaked at 4,500.

In October 2009, McDonnell was named as one of a number of prominent YouTube users who would be participating in a project called RNLI Shout. The aim of the project is to raise money to purchase a lifeboat for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

In the autumn of 2009, McDonnell featured with three other YouTube users on the BBC Switch documentary series Chartjackers. The programme documented their attempt to achieve a number one single in the UK Singles Chart within 10 weeks, by crowdsourcing resources provided by the online community. McDonnell was cast in the series for her familiarity to young British YouTube viewers. Over the course of Chartjackers, McDonnell solicited lyrics, music, performers and stylists to record the final single and video via a YouTube channel named ChartJackersProject. An unofficial charity single for Children in Need, the completed song was titled "I've Got Nothing" and was sung by vocalists Miranda Chartrand and Adam Nichols.[42] McDonnell edited the single's official music video,[43] which was shown nationwide on British music channels such as 4Music and Viva. "I've Got Nothing" was released exclusively through the iTunes Store at midnight on 9 November 2009[44] and reached No. 36 on the UK Singles Chart.[45] Sales of the single raised a total of approximately £10,000 for Children in Need.[46]

McDonnell was purportedly approached to be a Housemate on the eighth series, and first revived series, of Celebrity Big Brother but declined the offer.[47]

In October 2013, it was announced that McDonnell was to play the main voice role along with Danny Wallace in Mike Bithell's indie video game Volume.[48] The game was released in 2015 for PS4, PC and Mac and in 2016 for PlayStation Vita.

In 2014, McDonnell worked with the Home Office on their This Is Abuse Campaign, alongside other prominent YouTubers, in order to educate people about the importance of consensual sex.[49] She also made a video regarding consent on her YouTube channel.

Presenting roles

On 6 June 2010, McDonnell presented the YouTube Audience Award to The Inbetweeners as part of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Television Awards.

In July 2010 McDonnell was signed up alongside KateModern star Emma Pollard and X Factor contestants Nicola and Fran Gleadall to present a TV show run by Piers Morgan called FirstTV, an offshoot of First News newspaper. On FirstTV McDonnell did a few challenges like trying to break a Guinness world record by typing the alphabet on an iPad keyboard quickest and she got asked to tell a joke.[50][51] However, after filming four episodes of FirstTV, McDonnell decided to leave the show because she did not enjoy presenting pre-scripted work.[52]

On 4 September 2010, McDonnell and fellow YouTuber Myles Dyer co-presented Stickaid, a 24-hour live web show. Starting from 12:00 noon BST, the two hosted the fifth annual charity event from Middlesex University's Trent Park campus in London. Their goal was to raise £10,000 ($15,900), which they more than doubled.[53] All the proceedings went to UNICEF.

In November 2010, McDonnell was part of a group of YouTube videos called The Science of Attraction where she hosted a few experiments and had her body digitally swapped with somebody else's. She was a co-presenter with Kat Akingbade and Derren Brown. As part of the series, eight videos were produced.[54] In December 2010, McDonnell filmed a series of behind-the-scenes videos for Doctor Who Confidential during the filming of the Doctor Who Christmas special "A Christmas Carol".

Personal life

McDonnell considers herself an atheist.[55]

In March 2014, McDonnell announced on her blog that she had terminated her friendship with frequent collaborator Alex Day, stating that "I just don’t feel able to call Alex a friend of mine anymore", following allegations that Day had sexually manipulated and emotionally abused women, and cheated on past girlfriends.[56][57]

In October 2022, McDonnell came out as transgender on Instagram, using the trans flag in her post and stating that she would now be going by she/they pronouns.[58][59] In January 2023, McDonnell came out as a trans woman on YouTube, and said she began feminising hormone therapy in September 2022.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ McDonnell uses both she/her and they/them pronouns.[3] This article uses she/her pronouns for consistency.

References

  1. 1 2 "About charlieissocoollike". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 "Teenager's tea tips cause a stir". BBC. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  3. 1 2 McKee, Jake (20 January 2023). "Charlie McDonnell returns to YouTube after proudly coming out as trans: 'A lot's changed'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Cereal Time". YouTube. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "YouTuber's 'Fun Science' debut to Quadrille | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Carr, Martin (4 August 2020). "Exclusive Interview – Jeffrey Lieber and Charlie McDonnell discuss Quibi's Don't Look Deeper". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Charlie McDonnell profile Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Thisisbath.co.uk (1 October 2008). Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
  8. ↑ The day in a life of series: Charlie is so cool like
  9. ↑ "Twitter / @coollike: Thanks to everyone who wished ..." Twitter.com.
  10. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (24 July 2009). "Comic Con Vloggin'". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 75-51!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Twitter / @coollike". Twitter.com.
  13. ↑ "Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  14. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie. "What happened to charlieissocoollike? A Reintroduction Q&A". YouTube. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  15. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (8 March 2013). "I'm Excited". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  16. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (27 October 2014). "Thank You :)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  17. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (10 May 2013). "The Tea Chronicles - Trailer". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  18. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (23 May 2013). "The Tea Chronicles". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  19. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (15 November 2013). "OFFLINE - Trailer". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  20. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (14 December 2013). "OFFLINE - Full Film". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  21. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (22 June 2014). "The *Super Official* Charlie At VidCon 2014 Schedule". Charlie McDonnell. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  22. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (29 October 2014). "Our Brother - Part One". Charlie McDonnell. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  23. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie (29 October 2014). "Our Brother - Part Two". Charlie McDonnell. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  24. ↑ Balkovich, Robert (21 July 2020). "Why sci-fi fans will love Don't Look Deeper". Looper.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  25. ↑ "Music – Chameleon Circuit – DFTBA Records LLC". DFTBA records. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  26. ↑ "Available for FREE, exclusively at VidCon". Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  27. ↑ "Music – Chameleon Circuit – DFTBA Records LLC". DFTBA records. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  28. ↑ "Sexual Abuse, Consent, and Losing Friends". Charlie McDonnell. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Liam Dryden • On This Week". Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "Signings - VidCon 2014". VidCon 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  31. ↑ michaelaranda (15 November 2017). "I'm Michael Aranda, long-time Hank collaborator, SciShow host, business owner, and burger enthusiast. AMA". r/nerdfighters. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  32. ↑ Sons of Admirals on The 5:19 Show!. YouTube. Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
  33. ↑ polyhex. polyhex. Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
  34. ↑ iTunes – Music – Here Comes My Baby – EP by Sons of Admirals. Itunes.apple.com (25 October 2010). Retrieved on 28 December 2011.
  35. ↑ "Sons of Admirals Website". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  36. ↑ Duet With Myself, archived from the original on 12 December 2021, retrieved 9 May 2021
  37. ↑ "This is Me (CD)". Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  38. ↑ A Very Gideon Christmas | #P4A, retrieved 8 May 2021
  39. ↑ "Project for Awesome 2016 Perk Fulfillment". Tumblr. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  40. ↑ "The Bath Chronicle". 1 January 2009. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  41. ↑ "Just Giving". Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  42. ↑ "Episode 6". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 6. UK. 17 October 2009. BBC. BBC Two. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010.
  43. ↑ "Episode 7". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 7. UK. 24 October 2009. BBC. BBC Two. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009.
  44. ↑ "Chartjackers attack the charts". London: BBC. November 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  45. ↑ "Singles Chart For 21 November 2009". Official Charts Company. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  46. ↑ Producers: Jonathan Davenport and Adam King (21 November 2009). "Compilation". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 11. UK. BBC. BBC Two. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.
  47. ↑ "Twitter / @coollike: I would like to..." Twitter.com.
  48. ↑ "Volume - Actor Announcement". YouTube. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  49. ↑ "YouTube vloggers star in new abuse campaign". London: BBC. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  50. ↑ Davies, Jessica (14 July 2010). "Piers Morgan to launch First TV on web". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  51. ↑ "FirstTV is here!". First News. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  52. ↑ "VidCon & FirstTV". CharlieMcDonnell.com. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  53. ↑ "Just Giving". Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  54. ↑ Science of Attraction (4 November 2010). "Familiar Faces - Science of Attraction". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  55. ↑ McDonnell, Charlie. "Hotness Points". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  56. ↑ ""Sexual Abuse, Consent, and Losing Friends" - charliemcdonnell.com". Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  57. ↑ Butterly, Amelia (20 March 2014). "Vlogger admits 'manipulative relationships with women'". BBC News. BBC Newsbeat. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  58. ↑ Rude, Mey (7 October 2022). "YouTuber Charlie McDonnell Comes Out as Transgender". Out. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  59. ↑ Factora, James (7 October 2022). "Former YouTube Star Charlie McDonnell Has Come Out as Trans". Them. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
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