A YouTube star is set to host live talks at a Comic-Con style event at the Metrocentre.

Paul Tweddle, from Cleadon, will be appearing at the Metrocentre’s Fan Fest this weekend (Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27) as part of the line up of guest speaks for the event’s live stage talks.

Having gained more than 1.5million subscribers on YouTube for his Heavy Spoilers channel, racking up over 524 million views in the process, Paul will be speaking to audiences about popular franchises such as Jurassic Park, Stranger Things, the Marvel Universe, and more.

Paul’s YouTube videos focus on breakdowns, reviews, recaps, easter egg hunts, and more from a wide variety of content across pop culture.

Paul has told National World how he kicked started his YouTube career after he posted a video about a poorly received superhero blockbuster.

Paul Tweddle, from Cleadon, is the man behind the Heavy Spoilers YouTube channel. | Other 3rd Party

placeholder image — Paul Tweddle, from Cleadon, is the man behind the Heavy Spoilers YouTube channel. | Other 3rd Party

He said: “I was basically doing jobs that I hated when I left university before I got involved in a graduate apprenticeship scheme for web design.

“I reached out to a few companies and asked to run their social media for free just to get some experience and then I was accepted onto the scheme.

“I’ve always read comics and been interested in writing reviews so I set up my own website that was dedicated to reviewing Batman comic books.

“Around the time that Batman V Superman came out, I decided to do a quick video review on that and it got something like 2,000 views overnight - which was way more than all my web traffic combined.

“It made me realise that YouTube is an emerging thing so I shifted over to doing that.

“I started to write scripts and record videos in between being busy at work and then it spiralled from there.

“Then in around 2019, I was probably making more through YouTube than I was my actual job - I was 30-years-old at the time and I just viewed it as a chance to take a risk on doing it full time.”

Paul reflected on hitting impressive milestones such as one million subscribers and explained that it still all feels surreal to him despite all of his hard work over the years.

He added: “It all feels very strange and there is a lot of imposter syndrome where I don’t necessarily feel like I deserve it, especially because there are so many people trying to launch a YouTube career.

“I think a lot of it comes down to hard work and having an instinct of what is going to work for me.

“YouTube is one of those platforms that allows you to carve out a career in what you are interested in because it is accessibly 24 hours a day all over the world.

“If I make a video on a niche film, there will be other people worldwide who are interested in that and chances are, they will at some point come across that video.

Fan Fest will feature a wide variety of trading stalls throughout the weekend. | Other 3rd Party

“The YouTube algorithm is quite good at suggesting and recommending content, it does a lot of the work for you.

“For me, it is all about making sure that the video is good and when people watch it, they don’t turn it off.”

Ahead of Fan Fest, Paul revealed that it is the first time that he has taken part in an event like Fan Fest and expressed his excitement for it.

He commented: “It is quite strange as I’ve never done an event like that I was very surprised to get asked.

“A lot of the content that we do on the channel is heavily scripted and there is a lot of pre and post production work so it will be interesting to see all of it happening live.

The event is perfect for pop culture fans of all ages. | Other 3rd Party

“I am really looking forward to it, the North East is a great place where there is an emerging community for things like graphic novels so having this event is such a milestone.

“I’m really excited to be a part of it.

“It is going to be a really fun day for people of all ages, especially children because you learn to love superheroes as a kid and that then stays with you throughout your life.

“I wish we had events like this when I was a kid - it will be a really magical event.”

The full schedule for the live stage talks at Fan Fest is as follows:

Saturday, July 26

12pm: Jurassic Park.
2pm: Star Wars.
4pm: House of the Dragon.

Sunday, July 27

12pm: Stranger Things.
2pm: Superman.
4pm: Marvel Universe.

Seats can be booked for the talks via the Metrocentre’s website (https://themetrocentre.co.uk/whats-on/events/fan-fest) for just £2 per person - with all proceeds going to the CHUF.

You can follow Paul on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@heavyspoilers, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heavyspoilers/ and on X: https://x.com/heavyspoilers.