It was hard seeing Dad struggle – I won't make the same mistakes he did, says Danny Dyer's youngest daughter Sunnie, 18

The Sun

17-05-2025

DANNY DYER'S younger daughter Sunnie says ­seeing her dad's struggle with booze, drugs and rehab when she was a child keeps her grounded.
Now the talented 18-year-old budding actress views him as her 'best friend' and says one day she would love to follow in his footsteps and win a Bafta TV award, just like he did on Sunday.
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In her first newspaper interview, Sunnie opened up about how her working-class father has taught her how to deal with rejection in the industry.
She adds that she loves his ­ Disney+ hit Rivals, but refuses to watch his sex scenes.
Sunnie said: 'Dad's life lesson has been my life lesson. Seeing my dad struggle at times was very, very hard.
'Dad's past has made me more aware about when to stop drinking and that there is a limit.
'Now if he was struggling we could have a chat, but when I was younger I couldn't have understood.
'I was very protected. I didn't understand at home but then I would go to primary school and people would talk about it and I wouldn't really have a clue.
'It's very sad. My dad is my best friend.'
Fun experience
Sunnie trained at the famous Sylvia Young Theatre School, attended by Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes, and now has an agent as she sets out on her own career path in the industry.
Last weekend she accompanied Danny on the red carpet at the Bafta bash, where he won best comedy performance for his role in Sky Max series Mr Bigstuff.
She said afterwards: 'Like my dad I want to win a Bafta — and then an Oscar.
'Marisa Abela won an award and said she used to watch her mum in the National Youth Theatre, and Dad said to me, 'That's going to be you up there one day'.
'And I was like, 'I'll be thanking you, Dad — and Mum, of course'.
'I'm at college studying performing arts and this is the world I want to enter, so it's cool that I get to go to these events at a young age and know what the route is.
'I've wanted to be an actress ever since I could talk. Dad came into my college and did a workshop with us.
'He helped us run the lines, which was such a fun experience. I loved that — Dad teaching all my peers, him giving us feedback on what we should improve on. That was a nice moment.'
And she added: 'I like serious roles. I also write poems and short stories.'
Mentored by Harold Pinter
Danny was mentored by Harold Pinter and appeared in many of his plays before the playwright's death in 2008.
Sunnie was delighted to be in a recent production of Pinter's 1959 play The Dumb Waiter, originally written for two male actors.
She said: 'It was really fun to do. It's something I would probably never be able to do in the real world because it's two hitmen. He was proud of me.
'Any time I've got a ­rejection he says, 'Sun, this is the game you are in. You take the rejection and then you use it in your next role.
''You concentrate more. You put ten per cent more in every time'.
'He tells me to ride the storm every time.
'I'm very dark. Role-wise I'll do anything, especially horror or true crime — that would be good. But then I also love romantic comedies.'
Sunnie is close to her lookalike elder sister Dani, 28, who won Love Island in 2018, and younger brother Arty, ten.
They live in a sprawling Essex home with mum Jo, which is a world away from Danny's own East End upbringing, as well as his years ­playing Mick Carter in EastEnders.
Sunnie said: 'I am very privileged to live the life I live.
'We do live in the middle of nowhere, where there are no buses for me to even get on.
'I have been on a bus a few times in my life.
I have never been approached by EastEnders and I don't want to do reality shows – I wasn't made for Love Island. Dani bigs it up to me but it's not something I would ever do
'Mum is more strict than Dad with the rules. You always need bad cop and good cop.
'I get pocket money every month from Mum and Dad. I do alright. I'm very lucky.
'But Mum halves my money and puts it in my savings.
'I've got a job at home — I do the dishwasher and clean the sides in the kitchen. I get treated for doing that.
'I do get curfews, too — it just ­depends on where I am.
'Every Friday I stay in and have my Chinese takeaway. People ask me if I want to go out on a Friday and I say, 'Nope'.
'I have never been approached by EastEnders and I don't want to do reality shows — I wasn't made for Love Island, I haven't got the confidence for it.
'Dani bigs it up to me, but it's not something I would ever do.'
'It's how we bonded'
Cockney Danny swore several times during his Bafta acceptance speech on Sunday, but Sunnie is far cleaner with her language.
She said: 'I don't have a potty mouth, I take pride in my words. I only swear if it's necessary.
'I don't swear at Dad. There is a level of respect and if I swear at him of course I get told off.' She added: 'I'm allowed a drink. It's always been normal to have a drink with dinner in our house.
'I'm not a big drinker anyway. ­People offer me one and I'm like, 'Nah'.
'I notice with my friends that the ones with the strictest parents are the most lethal on a night out.
'I can have a drink whenever but I know my limit. I don't take the mick with it. I just don't like the way it makes me feel.'
Sunnie was so enchanted with her dad in the Eighties-set drama Rivals that she organised a specially themed birthday party.
She said: 'I absolutely loved it, although I didn't watch the sex scenes with Dad in.
I wish I had a boyfriend. That is what I want in life, just to be in love. I find it very difficult to find one, because I have to manage if they really actually want me and the life that I have, or they just want to be with me for the sake of it
'I had an Eighties birthday party and I was shocked that my friends didn't know about the Eighties.
'I was so excited. It's something I've dreamed of my whole life — a night in the Eighties. I grew up on Eighties films from when I was three or four.
'Dad has always shown me films. It's been how we bonded — Lost Boys, Weird Science, Stand By Me.'
One thing missing in Sunnie's life is a boyfriend — but she knows Danny would be strict.
She said: 'I wish I had a boyfriend. That is what I want in life, just to be in love. I find it very difficult to find one, because I have to manage if they really actually want me and the life that I have, or they just want to be with me for the sake of it.
'So I've pushed boys away because of that.
'I'd love to meet a Spanish boy. I've never really brought a boy home.
'Dad would have authority and shake the guy's hand firmly!'
SEQUEL TO 'DYER' FILM
DANNY has revealed he is making a sequel to his hit movie Marching Powder.
And he promised that the flick, called Stoned Island – a play on the clothing brand Stone Island, favoured by football fans – will be less violent than the original dark comedy.
He said: 'The movie had awful reviews, but people voted with their feet. We are making a sequel now called Stoned Island.
'I am proud of it but it was hard work. I thought we had too much violence. I don't think you need it. That's where it dipped for me.'
Speaking at a Paul Strank Charitable Trust event for disadvantaged families, where he donated thousands of pounds, Danny added: 'I have got stories to tell as there are so many characters I have been brought up with. It goes, 'F*** the elite'.'
SWEARY? IT'S JUST DANNY'S NERVES
DANNY'S wife Jo says the East End actor is a 'softie' at heart, despite his sweary, lairy image.
The mother to his three kids reveals he cleans up after the dog and they regularly enjoy date nights.
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The couple are childhood sweethearts who met aged 14 and finally wed nine years ago.
Jo says: 'I think Danny's swearing is part of a character that he uses to hide from his real self.
'I say that to him all the time. He is a softie. I've noticed he swears a lot in interviews when he is nervous or he doesn't know what to say.'
Jo shuns red carpets and awards ceremonies and says: 'I was at the rugby when the Baftas was on. I forgot all about it. I didn't fancy going. I don't want to be that public person. I know when I go out, people go, 'Oh, that's Danny Dyer's wife'.'
Jo stood by Danny during his wild past and rehab stints and has seen him come out on the other side.
Now life is calmer and she says: 'Danny's past has done wonders for my kids. My girls won't be ruining their lives on drugs.
'We have date nights and if we have a family dinner the wine is out.
'We will have a nice bottle of champagne or sangria.'
Jo keeps Danny in check by encouraging him to chip in with household chores and pick up after their dog Deborah, a French bulldog.
She says: 'He does the dishes and looks after the dog – I don't have time for the dog at home.
'For five years I told Danny, 'You're not having a dog, you're not here'.
'He begged and begged and then we went into Covid.
'He brought this dog home and I said, 'You've got to take her to work with you'.
'So he took it to EastEnders and then she went to doggy day care for about a year, and soon he was getting the hump.
'Every argument me and Danny have is over the dog. Bulldogs stink. They are like pigs.
'So I will wake him up. If he's done a night shoot and has come in at 5am I don't care.
'I'll go, 'The dog's p**sed on the carpet – up you get'. And I will see the hatred in his eyes!'