10 Established UK YouTubers and How They Became Famous

1. Zoella: Success through relatability  

Zoella (aka Zoe Sugg) led the first wave of United Kingdom YouTubers, posting fashion and lifestyle videos starting in 2009. She was once named Britain’s most powerful YouTuber and topped Forbes’ first Top Beauty Influencers list.  

Relatability sets her apart. “Her style reflects that of girls her age – she shops on the high street,” Emily Sheffield writes for Vogue. Zoella herself agrees. “People say they like my fashion-haul videos because it’s like you’ve been shopping with your friends,” she told Vogue. “But this isn’t just one friend – it’s millions.”  

2. VT Physics: Embracing shorts  

A newcomer among top UK YouTubers, VT Physics provides quick, fun explanations of how physics causes everyday phenomena, often commenting on other popular short-form content while making ample use of memes, overdubbing, and split-screens.  

She blew up after switching to YouTube Shorts, where she now posts daily, in August 2021. “The very first video I made was me drawing stick figures with a Sharpie, and now we’re hitting millions of views on Shorts,” she said after reaching 1 million subscribers in 2025.  

3. Colin Furze: Going bigger 

Furze’s account took off when he made the world’s biggest bonfire. He’s since created the fastest mobility scooter, dug an underground bunker in his garden, and built a motorcycle with a built-in pizza oven.  

Furze thinks big, imagining outlandish projects and making them happen. “I wanted each build to be different, whether it was using a tool in a new way or making jet engines out of lorry turbos,” Furze said while receiving an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Warwick. “Each one pushed me to try something unique.”  

4. Ali Abdaal: Prioritising value   

“I can definitively say that YouTube changed my life,” Abdaal says. “It allowed me to quit my job, build a multimillion-dollar business, and live a life that I love.” 

Abdaal built his channel (for which he earns $5 million per year) on outlining productivity strategies for general audiences. He earned his first 1,000 subscribers within six months. “If you just find a way to teach others and provide value about that thing you know (preferably for free), then people will latch onto that,” he says. 

5. KSI: Using YouTube as a springboard  

Now undoubtedly among the biggest UK YouTubers, KSI (a name taken from his old Halo clan that stands for “knowledge, strength, and integrity”) joined YouTube as KSIOlajideBT in 2009, when he was just 15 years old. He originally built a following by filming himself playing Fifa games, and released his first vlog in 2011. He quickly increased his following, hitting 1 million subscribers in 2012. He then debuted a studio album in 2020, launched influencer boxing, and co-created Prime energy drink.  

“I’m a guy that breaks ceilings,” KSI told Square Mile. “Just being on YouTube alone didn’t allow me to branch out, so to prove myself I had to do well in other industries.” 

6. Ali-A: Finding a work-life balance  

Starting in 2006 aged just 13 and mostly known for gaming content, Ali-A (aka Alastair Aiken) belongs to a generation of English YouTubers who grew up with the platform. “I don’t think anyone making gaming videos on YouTube back then earned anything,” he told Forbes. “I grew quite slowly at the beginning.” 

He’s since developed “a nice, healthy work-life balance” using a “team of people who basically check the whole internet, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, everything for content and clips,” then filming his own videos reacting to that content.  

7. LDShadowLady: Dominating one niche  

LDShadowLady’s YouTube description says it all: “Minecraft is love. Minecraft is life.” The sandbox video game definitely established her channel. After appearing in an April 2011 Minecraft video from American YouTuber ZackScottGames gained her 3,000 subscribers overnight, she started uploading Minecraft content to her own channel in August of the same year.  

She’s been leaning into the Minecraft community ever since, carving out a niche as one of its most popular creators largely thanks to several long-running video series (one of which, Shadowcraft, has 73 entries). Over a decade later, her Minecraft videos can attract over a million views.  

8. Lilly Sabri: Leveraging qualifications  

“[Making fitness content is] about finding a balance between what the general population wants and what your skill set is,” Sabri told the Independent. She used her experience as a physiotherapist and Pilates instructor to offer home workouts with science-backed tips and accessible movement alternatives for all fitness levels.  

COVID lockdowns were another opportunity. “[We looked] at how we can effectively use these lockdowns to help as many people as possible,” she said, which she did through creating home-based workouts.  

9. EthanGamer: Knowing the audience  

One of the most famous British YouTubers, EthanGamer first uploaded a video at just 7 years old on an account he made with his dad (you must be at least 13 to upload from your own account, and under-18s require supervision from a parent or legal guardian). “I had been watching other YouTubers playing video games like Roblox and Minecraft, so wanted to try it myself,” he told Metro. “[It] wasn’t about the number of subscribers or being popular.” 

Just having fun worked. Ethan’s family-friendly content focused on him playing games kids love, such as Roblox (his Roblox playlist has 467 videos). Ethan hit 1 million subscribers on his 10th birthday and still uploads almost a decade on.  

10. Tech Spurt: Appealing to enthusiasts  

Tech Spurt’s Chris Barraclough spent 15 years as a journalist reviewing technology for “dozens of PC/smartphone publications” and presenting videos for the likes of TechRadar and Recombu. It gave him all he needed to stand out as a rigorous tech reviewer on his own channel.  

“We don’t just pull things out of boxes here,” notes Tech Spurt’s channel description. “We dive deep into those smartphones, gaming machines, smartwatches, and other tech.” That’s what makes his videos appealing to his fellow tech enthusiasts.