He's known for his on-screen hard-man persona, but Danny Dyer has no problem being soppy when it comes to his love for Eastenders – even crediting the soap with saving his life.
The beloved Old Vic landlord will be calling time on his life in Albert Square during an explosive Christmas Day episode, and has reflected on the show coming at just the right time.
Danny first joined the soap in 2013 as Old Vic landlord Mick Carter and has been playing the much loved character ever since.
Speaking to The Sun, the father-of-three described his life prior to the soap as a “car crash” and admits that he didn’t believe he’d remain in the soap for long.
Having found fame in the early nighties and noughties with films like Human Traffic, The Football Factory and The Business – Danny’s career had begun to wane.
Turning to drink and drugs to fill the void, the actor struggled to stay sober and relied on public appearances to keep money coming in.
But even these were beginning to dwindle, before the actor joined the iconic BBC soap with showrunner Dominic Treadwell Collins taking a risk on the actor.
It was a stressful time for Danny, who told the publication: “When I came into this show I was a f***ing car crash….My career was on its f***ing arse. I was going to nightclubs and waving off of balconies and saying hello to people to pay my f***ing mortgage.”
He continued: “I had made a lot of bad decisions and I was in a bad place – and Dominic Treadwell Collins took a risk on me.”
Since then, the actor has never looked back.
Danny has gone on to be central to several hard-hitting storylines and has won three National Television Awards for Best Serial Drama Performance in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
Having spent almost a third of his career in Albert Square, Danny has admitted it’s not been easy for him to leave the show but hopes that the hour-long special will be a “fitting end” to his time on the show.
The exit has been hard not just for Danny, but also for actress Kellie Bright – who plays Danny’s on-screen wife and is a close friend of the actor’s off-screen.
Calling his departure the “end of an era”, the actress admitted that she’d “cried from July to November” and struggled to cope with knowing her friend was leaving.
During a special preview screening of the Christmas Day episode, she told The Sun: “Danny was at my wedding, he has gone through IVF with me, there is stuff we have shared – it makes saying goodbye very hard.”
In true Eastenders fashion, Danny received a worthy off-screen send-off with several speeches, a few tears and the actor being gifted his very own signed Albert Square board from cast members.
The actor also revealed that he has another souvenir from the show, including a stool from the Queen Vic pub.
Having previously been used on set and then in Danny’s trailer, the much to the frustration of his real-life wife Jo Mas.
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