PewDiePie, Zoella and who else? What the UK watched on YouTube in 2014

Brighton-based PewDiePie picked up most new UK subscribers on YouTube in 2014 Photograph: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Who were the biggest stars on YouTube for British viewers? Gamers and vloggers, according to a chart published by the video site as part of its end-of-year Rewind review.

The list of channels, ordered by the number of new subscribers they added in the UK, is led by Brighton-based gamer PewDiePie – aka Felix Kjellberg – who is also YouTube’s biggest star globally.

He was joined in the top five by two more gaming channels – KSI and Vanoss Gaming – and two vloggers, Wroetoshaw and Zoella, who has become embroiled in a row over the “ghostwriting” of her record-breaking debut novel.

Gaming looms large in the rest of the top 20, particularly Minecraft-focused channels such as Stampy, The Diamond Minecart and iBallisticSquid. Most of the creators are based in the UK, although US channels The Fine Bros and Tyler Oakley also appear in the chart.

The world of YouTubers can feel like a generational chasm at times, with teens and twentysomethings watching in their millions, and older internet users baffled by the appeal of some of their favourites.

If you are in the latter group, then, consider this a primer to the 20 most popular – by subscribers, remember, not views – YouTube channels of 2014 in the UK, including their key global stats. Expect some occasional ripe language.

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