Top UK YouTubers

YouTube is one of the most visited platforms in the world, with an influence so vast that it has allowed creators to turn posting videos online into lucrative, full-time careers.

But, who are the top UK YouTubers, what do they do, and how did they end up collecting millions of views on the platform that put them on the best UK Youtubers list?

Let’s take a closer look at the top 20 UK YouTubers on the scene.

1.  DanTDM – Daniel Robert Middleton

Daniel Robert Middleton, better known online as DanTDM (short form TheDiamondMinecart), is a UK YouTuber that rose to fame by playing Minecraft playthroughs.

In addition to having one of the most popular YouTube channels in the world by viewership, Middleton has also won several Kids’ Choice Awards and has set Guinness World Records for his dedication to Minecraft, for which he has received a Golden Play Button and a Diamond Play Button. 

Although he still mainly posts Minecraft-related videos, you can find commentaries and videos about many other games like Roblox and Pokemon on his channel. 

2. KSI-Olajide Olatunji

KSI (Olajide Olatunji) is one of the most famous British internet personalities and is the second most subscribed among UK YouTubers. 

The YouTube sensation, whose real name is Olajide William ‘JJ’ Olatunji, is a rapper, comedian, and actor who found fame on the platform by uploading gaming commentary. 

KSI– which stands for knowledge, strength, integrity– is also the founding member of the online group The Sidemen and an amateur boxer who famously fought Logan Paul. 

Now, the YouTube creator mostly focuses on promoting his music, though you could still enjoy his reaction content on his second channel JJ Olatunji, which counts 15.7M subscribers.

3. Ali-A – Alastair Aiken

On the list of top YouTubers in the UK, few are better deserving of a spot than Ali-A.

Alastair Aiken started uploading videos on the platform to show off his skills in Mario Kart Strikers and Wii football classic. 

His content is now mainly based on Fortnite: Battle Royale (including in-game challenges and tips on how to play the game) and Call of Duty (gameplay and commentary) and is currently the third-most subscribed Fortnite YouTube creator, after Ninja and LazarBeam.

4. Colinfurze

If you’re a fan of unconventional creations, then you’ve likely heard the name Colinfurze on YouTube. 

Colinfurze is a video maker, shed inventor, stuntman, and one of the most famous British YouTubers who left his plumbing day job in 2011 after gaining immense popularity on the platform- thanks to his ingenuity, creativity, and skill.

His ‘biggest hits’ on YouTube include attaching a flamethrower to a rickshaw, building and riding a homemade hoverbike, and constructing a giant apocalypse bunker.

Colinfurze even managed to secure the Guinness World Record speed of 70 mph for a mobility scooter.

5. Emily Tube

Emily Tube is the immensely popular channel of 8-year-old Emily Cozmiuc– one of the youngest YouTube influencers in the UK.

Cozmiuc started garnering attention on the platform after her parents decided to film her playing with her toys and doing normal children activities. The videos were mainly meant to be seen by her extended family in Romania, so they can keep up with her exploits while growing up in London. 

Her videos eventually reached such a wide audience that, at one point, her father, Ciprian quit his job as a bank maintenance engineer in the City to manage her daughter’s YouTube career full time.

6. Zoella Sugg

Zoella, whose real name is Zoe Sugg, rose to fame after starting a blog with that same name and moving across to YouTube shortly after.

Sugg’s content mainly focused on lifestyle, fashion, and beauty. She was one of the best UK lifestyle YouTubers, and her content was so popular that when she released a book in 2014, it was one of the fastest-selling debut novels. 

Zoella eventually stopped posting on her YouTube channel, where the last upload was 4 years ago, and moved operations to her now main channel, Zoe Sugg – which she created for daily videos and vlogs– that now has 4.92M subscribers. 

She still posts about beauty and style, but also about books and recipes.

7. Deji-Babadeji Daniel Olatunji

KSI’s younger brother Deji, whose real name is Babadeji Daniel Olatunji, started out by posting gaming videos to YouTube, including FIFA. 

Best known as ComedyShortsGamer (abbreviated as CSG), Deji is one of the most famous UK YouTubers on the platform, who rose to fame as a result of his comedic content, reactions, and skits. 

He eventually started pursuing an amateur boxing career, with his most popular match being the fight against Jake Paul. 

Today, Deji’s videos are boxing-related. He also has a second channel, ‘Deji2’, which is currently on hiatus.

8. Stampylonghead – Joseph Mark Garret

Stampylonghead is one of the biggest gaming UK YouTubers on the platform. 

Joseph Mark Garret, also known under his internet alias Stampy Cat, started the channel back in 2011 and is best known for posting Let’s Play videos of the immensely popular game Minecraft, which is played by more than 3.3 million daily players.

Before he dove into Minecraft, stampylonghead had a different channel – stampylongnose – which he launched in 2006 and where he posted videos of live-action comedy skits with his friends. 

Unlike many old YouTube influencers, Garret hasn’t changed his kid-friendly channel. He continues to post Minecraft videos and sometimes plays other popular games like Spyro: Reignited Trilogy or Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

9. GeorgeNotFound – George Davidson

GeorgeNotFound is one of the most popular Minecraft YouTubers in the UK.

George Davidson, also known as ‘Gogy’ or ‘GNF’, made a name for himself alongside fellow creator Dream and is primarily known for creating Minecraft videos that usually feature some form of a challenge in the game. 

He is also the co-founder of the roleplay-centric Dream SMP Minecraft server, which he and Dream started in 2020, where the creators tell stories and interact with each other. 

Although Geroge doesn’t have a second channel, you can find alternative content from him on Twitch, where he streams other games like CS: GO, Genshin Impact, and Fortnite, a game where players have spent an equivalent of 10.4 million years on it.

10. Daniel Howell

Dan Howell is one of the most well-known names on the YouTube scene. 

Dan, who is best known for being one half of the best UK Youtubers duo Dan and Phill, is hugely popular– despite having taken several breaks from YouTube. 

After creating comedy-style videos for a little under a decade, Daniel left YouTube. He returned a year later with what is now his most watched video– in which he came out to the world– that raked in 12M views. Earlier this year, Daniel published another video explaining why he quit YouTube and how he struggled with his mental health. 

He now mainly posts on his secondary channel, ‘danisnotinteresting’, where he uploads bloopers and recommendations. 

11. ChrisMD – Christopher Michael Dixon

ChrisMD is the perfect channel for football fans that are looking to support British YouTubers. 

Christopher Michael Dixon’s first video was him playing the hit game Call of Duty: Black Ops. He found his niche once he switched to FIFA and football challengers.

His most viewed videos show him unpacking FIFA packs and doing football challenges inspired by the Sunday League. 

ChrisMD sometimes uploads commentary/reactions to popular games and plays in the world of football and has met and posted videos with many well-known footballers, including Kevin de Bruyne, Aleix Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

12.  Thoughty2 – Arran Lomas

Thoughty2, whose real name is Arran Lomas and who describes himself as the ‘gatekeeper of useless facts,’ makes videos that are educational and is one of the most entertaining  English YouTubers on the platform.

Lomas’ videos touch on different subjects, including history, space, conspiracy theories, and even social commentary, as the YouTuber tries to answer questions about ‘life, the universe, and everything’ for his fans.

The name of his channel, Thoughty2, is a pun on the joke that the answer to that question is the number 42 – and this is how he introduces himself in all of his videos.

13. Alfie Deyes

Alfie Deyes is one of the first  British vloggers to ever appear on the YouTube platform. 

He started his career by uploading shorts of his daily life and garnered millions of views thanks to his humour and down-to-earth personality. 

Deyes eventually started adding challenges and reaction videos to the mix and created two other channels Alfie Deyes Vlogs and his gaming channel, PointlessBlogGames. 

Alfie is currently most active on his secondary channel and has expanded his content to include insights on his growing family and his parenthood journey.

14. WillNE – William Jonathan Lenney

William Jonathan “Will” Lenney is a popular YouTuber from the UK that rose to popularity by making videos on BGMedia that went viral.

He is best known for his challenges and commentary videos – in which he comments on many things happening on the internet– as well as videos that feature popular faces on the YouTube scene, including KSI and Memelous. 

He also has a second channel called WillNE Reacts (formerly S2W and Sub2WillNE), where he reacts to documentaries, reality TV shows, funny videos, and challenges.

15. Memeulous – George Arthur Andrewes

Memeulous is one of the most funny British YouTubers whose real name is George Arthur Andrewes. 

He’s best known for his Let’s Play funny moments videos and the fact that he only shows up on camera with sunglasses, a hat, and a bandana over his face that conceals his identity. His most popular videos are his Club Penguin videos, in which he plays the game and provides a running commentary. 

In addition to his games-related videos, Memelous sometimes uploads videos in which he discusses interesting or important events that have happened on YouTube or the internet.

16. Tanya Burr

The English YouTube actress, widely popular for her tutorials on makeup, hair care, skincare, and fashion, worked behind a beauty counter before she joined YouTube as a content creator back in 2009. 

Burr, who is one of the best British female YouTubers, saw great success on YouTube and, in 2014, launched a cosmetic brand– Tanya Burr Cosmetics– through the British retailer Superdrug.

While Burr no longer posts videos on her channel, she still maintains a social media presence.

17. Patricia Bright

Patricia Bright is a beauty, fashion, and lifestyle guru who began making videos more than 10 years ago. But, unlike many male and female YouTubers in the UK,  who blew up on YouTube after 1-2 years on the platform, it took Bright 7 years to see the ‘1M views’ mark on her videos. 

Bright’s greatest strength is her bubbly online personality and passion for makeup and fashion styles that have captured a massive following. 

She also has a second channel called ‘The Break’, which focuses on how to build a social media presence and an online-based business. 

18. Louise Pentland

Louise Pentland, who was known to her followers as SprinkleofGliter, is a blogger and vlogger and of the best-known UK female YouTubers that has spent over a decade on the platform.

Pentland, who disavowed her SpringleofGlitter username with the goal of building a brand around her own name in 2016, posts videos about beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. 

She also filmed pregnancy updates before the birth of her children and used to post vlogs of her day-to-day life on her second channel SprinkleofChatter, but now uploads this type of content on her Louise Pentland channel.

19. Samantha Maria

Samantha Maria is one of the most iconic YouTubers from the UK who’s been in the content-creating industry for over a decade. She joined YouTube back in 2009 after having graduated from a fashion school.

Her videos mainly focus on fashion and beauty hacks, including skincare hacks and hair routines, as well as reviews on Maria’s favourite and least favourite products.

She also occasionally does ‘girl talk’ videos with her audience, in which she gives advice to women on their relationship struggles, being single, breakups, parenting, and more.

Honorary mention: PewDiePie – Felix Kjellberg

Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is from Sweden but is considered to be one of the biggest British YouTubers as he has spent most of his YouTube career in the UK.

‘Pewds’ primarily posted Let’s Play videos of action and horror video games that made his channel one of the fastest growing on the platform. The channel, which eventually shifted from video games to vlogs (usually from his trips), commentaries, and comedy shorts, was the most watched and most subscribed on YouTube for years. 

Felix is one of the most viewed gamers in the UK in the world and is the most subscribed (non) British individual YouTuber in the UK of all time.

Bottom Line 

YouTube is undeniably one of the most popular video platforms in the digital era– and it owes that (even if it’s a small part) to the top UK YouTubers on there. Regardless of whether you like gaming or are looking for fashion and beauty tips and tricks, chances are, there is a YouTube creator that makes videos about your interests – and makes tons of money doing it.