Danny Dyer's awkward jeans encounter 'helped him kick drug habit'
The ex-EastEnders star, who has been open about his addiction in the past, shared the pivotal moment that made him go clean for good
Former EastEnders star Danny Dyer has openly discussed the moment he knew he had to give up drugs, which involved a confusing encounter with his trousers after a heavy night.
Danny, who has previously spoken about his battles with substance misuse, shared on The Louis Theroux Podcast the incident following a party at the National Television Awards (NTAs), in which he found himself perplexed by his jeans.
He recalled: "I just could not work out how to get my jeans on. I was just sitting on my ensuite toilet trying to work out what leg goes in what.
"I've sort of had many of them moments over the years, of me being completely off my head. But that one really resonated with me. It was more because I looked up, my wife was just watching me and she looked shattered and she looked ill."
Acknowledging the toll his addiction took on his family, Danny expressed a grave realisation about his destructive behaviour: "It was just this moment, I thought, 'S**t, you're going to die.
"You're going to kill yourself. You're not happy. You're spanking all your money on drugs. You're destroying everything around you'.
"It's weird that moment because I went straight to work [on EastEnders] that day and I was a bit off my head and I did say, 'Listen, I need to... I need help. I can't do this any more. I need help."
In March, Danny candidly shared his struggles with substance abuse in an interview with The Guardian, crediting his role as a devoted family man for aiding his recovery.
He remarked at the time: "Listen, I've had my issues with it. As a grandfather, it's not my thing. I've certainly been to plenty of parties and I've lived a life. I've got to a point where I've got rid of all my vices."
While on the podcast, the actor – currently busy with the second series of the acclaimed drama Rivals – expressed frustration over his experiences trying to make it in Hollywood.
According to Wales Online, he was particularly irked by being pressured to adopt an American accent, which often resulted in him being mistaken for an Australian.
"They wanted me to live there for six months, and I had small children and I hated the fact that they wanted me to speak American all the time, which is what you're meant to do out there," he further explained.
Moreover, he confided in Louis his immense pride in his latest solo project, Three Quick Breaths, drawing parallels to a personal acting milestone, saying: "We shot it in 10 days in Dublin and I had to learn 15 pages a day.
"Maybe this was my Hamlet, maybe that narcissist in me thought, can I be the only one in a film? I watched it and I'm really proud of it."
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify and all podcast platforms.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
28 minutes ago
- Leader Live
True Love powers to Queen Mary first for O'Brien
Trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, True Love had chased home Tuesday's Coventry Stakes winner and stablemate Gstaad on her latest start and was duly sent off the 9-4 favourite. True Love took some time to work her way into the race as Zelaina set a scorching early pace, but she stayed on to real effect in the final furlong to beat 100-1 shot Flowerhead, with Patrick Biancone's American raider Lennilu third. It was win number 93 for O'Brien at the big meeting, although rather surprisingly his first in the Queen Mary. He said: 'She's lovely and in her first run Ryan came in and said they won't beat her again and then after her second run Wayne (Lordan) said the same thing, that they won't beat her again, and then you have to consider the two that beat her (Lady Iman and Gstaad) are very good horses. 'Ryan gave her a beautiful ride and Michael (Tabor) has always loved her and always spoken about her. It's great as her mother (Alluringly) is in foal to City Of Troy and her sister is in foal to Wootton Bassett so it's marvellous really. 'She was drawn by herself and there was no pace where she was so she had to go and do her own work and that's what Ryan did, he was excellent on her. She was probably strongest in the last half-furlong and when she got going she really powered away. Another juvenile winner for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore 👏 True Love wins The Queen Mary Stakes ❤️#RoyalAscot — ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 18, 2025 'Ryan said he was a little slow to step and a little on the back foot all the time and I think that's why he was trying to stoke her up a bit, but late on she was really strong. 'She had to work really hard and the only place she was going to get company was out in the middle and Ryan did really well to let her go there. She was under the pump a long way out, but so strong at the line and is obviously high class. 'She's like a four-year-old really and Ryan thought she would be better when she steps up to six furlongs and she's a big, mature filly who walks around the ring like a four-year-old, she's so scopey – she's something to look forward to.' On future plans, O'Brien added: 'I think we look forward to going up in trip now, the lads will decide that. You would imagine she would have no problem going six furlongs, but she is No Nay Never and he's a big speed influence always. 'The Queen Mary winner seems to always head to Deauville (Prix Morny) or the Curragh (Airlie Stud Stakes) and that would be the two races really or there is the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket in July. That may come too soon, but we will see how she is.' Flowerhead's trainer Charlie Clover was thrilled to secure a Royal Ascot placing in his first full season with a licence. He said: 'This is a huge start for us, we were struggling away for the first few months but it's really kicked into gear the past few weeks and it's been a delight to see the whole team find their feet. 'It's only a small team but it's been massively welcome to see these horses run to form and I can't thank (owner) Amo Racing enough, they've done so much for me and my career in helping me get off the ground. 'We liked her at home, we hoped she'd run a nice race but second was a bit of a dream. You can get greedy quite quickly and think you could have won it, who knows? 'I'm delighted to be in the frame and for her to run a big race for owners who are so important to me.' Biancone plans to head back to America with Lennilu following her run, saying: 'She's only a baby. 'I liked the fact she was the first one off the bridle and she was there at the end, which means she will go a bit further and that is great. We're happy, she fought all the way. 'We go home, we give her a break. The first plan was to try to bring her here which we did, she's Grade Two placed now which is good. She'll have a little vacation and we'll see her in Del Mar.' The Richard Hannon-trained Harry's Girl was pulled up during the race and it was later confirmed the filly had sustained a fatal injury.
Rhyl Journal
31 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
True Love powers to Queen Mary first for O'Brien
Trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, True Love had chased home Tuesday's Coventry Stakes winner and stablemate Gstaad on her latest start and was duly sent off the 9-4 favourite. True Love took some time to work her way into the race as Zelaina set a scorching early pace, but she stayed on to real effect in the final furlong to beat 100-1 shot Flowerhead, with Patrick Biancone's American raider Lennilu third. It was win number 93 for O'Brien at the big meeting, although rather surprisingly his first in the Queen Mary. He said: 'She's lovely and in her first run Ryan came in and said they won't beat her again and then after her second run Wayne (Lordan) said the same thing, that they won't beat her again, and then you have to consider the two that beat her (Lady Iman and Gstaad) are very good horses. 'Ryan gave her a beautiful ride and Michael (Tabor) has always loved her and always spoken about her. It's great as her mother (Alluringly) is in foal to City Of Troy and her sister is in foal to Wootton Bassett so it's marvellous really. 'She was drawn by herself and there was no pace where she was so she had to go and do her own work and that's what Ryan did, he was excellent on her. She was probably strongest in the last half-furlong and when she got going she really powered away. Another juvenile winner for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore 👏 True Love wins The Queen Mary Stakes ❤️#RoyalAscot — ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 18, 2025 'Ryan said he was a little slow to step and a little on the back foot all the time and I think that's why he was trying to stoke her up a bit, but late on she was really strong. 'She had to work really hard and the only place she was going to get company was out in the middle and Ryan did really well to let her go there. She was under the pump a long way out, but so strong at the line and is obviously high class. 'She's like a four-year-old really and Ryan thought she would be better when she steps up to six furlongs and she's a big, mature filly who walks around the ring like a four-year-old, she's so scopey – she's something to look forward to.' On future plans, O'Brien added: 'I think we look forward to going up in trip now, the lads will decide that. You would imagine she would have no problem going six furlongs, but she is No Nay Never and he's a big speed influence always. 'The Queen Mary winner seems to always head to Deauville (Prix Morny) or the Curragh (Airlie Stud Stakes) and that would be the two races really or there is the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket in July. That may come too soon, but we will see how she is.' Flowerhead's trainer Charlie Clover was thrilled to secure a Royal Ascot placing in his first full season with a licence. He said: 'This is a huge start for us, we were struggling away for the first few months but it's really kicked into gear the past few weeks and it's been a delight to see the whole team find their feet. 'It's only a small team but it's been massively welcome to see these horses run to form and I can't thank (owner) Amo Racing enough, they've done so much for me and my career in helping me get off the ground. 'We liked her at home, we hoped she'd run a nice race but second was a bit of a dream. You can get greedy quite quickly and think you could have won it, who knows? 'I'm delighted to be in the frame and for her to run a big race for owners who are so important to me.' Biancone plans to head back to America with Lennilu following her run, saying: 'She's only a baby. 'I liked the fact she was the first one off the bridle and she was there at the end, which means she will go a bit further and that is great. We're happy, she fought all the way. 'We go home, we give her a break. The first plan was to try to bring her here which we did, she's Grade Two placed now which is good. She'll have a little vacation and we'll see her in Del Mar.' The Richard Hannon-trained Harry's Girl was pulled up during the race and it was later confirmed the filly had sustained a fatal injury.
Graziadaily
an hour ago
- Graziadaily
Everything To Know About Derek Dixon And His Sexual Assault Allegations Against Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry, the US film and TV giant, has been faced with sexual harassment, workplace gender violence and sexual assault accusations in a new lawsuit filed last week by Derek Dixon. Dixon has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing Perry of creating a 'coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' by using his influence in the entertainment industry. Perry's lawyer denied the allegations. Perry is one of the entertainment industry's biggest names, with a string of successful shows under his belt. The mogul is best known for creating the immensely popular Madea character, who was played by Perry in a string of widely successful films from 2005 to 2022. Naturally, people are interested to know more about Derek Dixon. On Google trends, 'Derek Dixon' is a breakout search term under Tyler Perry's name, with people searching for information about the lawsuit and which shows he worked on with Perry. Derek Dixon is an actor who is most well-known for his role as Dale on Perry's show The Oval. He was born in North California, and completed his education at Marymount Manhattan College and later acted at the Terry Schreiber Studio in New York. Alongside the Oval, Dixon worked with Perry on another American drama called Ruthless. The show is a spin-off of The Oval, and tells the story of a woman named Ruth who kidnaps her young daughter to join a religious cult. Dixon has also had multiple roles in theatre productions, including The Lion in Winter, Romeo and Juliet, and The Boys in the Band. According to People, who obtained the lawsuit, Dixon met Perry in 2019 at a party for the opening of Perry's studio in Atlanta. At the time, Dixon was working for an events company that had organised the party for the filmmaker. Dixon and Perry swapped numbers, according to Dixon. 'Perry allegedly "picked [Dixon] out of a crowd of employees present at the party, and began asking [Dixon] questions about his employment status, and whether Plaintiff was an actor,' with Perry initially offered him career advancement. Perry later offered Dixon a role on Ruthless, promising that 'it was a small role that could get a lot bigger.' Derek Dixon's is suing Perry for $260m (£194m), accusing the mogul of sexually assaulting him while working on his TV shows. Dixon's lawsuit accuses Perry of using his influence in the entertainment industry to create a 'coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' while he was acting on Perry's shows The Oval and Ruthless. He alleges Perry promised him career advancement but then subjected him to 'escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation' when he didn't reciprocate Perry's 'unwanted advances.' Perry and Dixon worked together on Ruthless and The Oval. However, the lawsuit states: 'Mr Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos, Dixon's character would 'die' in the next season.' It claims Perry 'always held this over Mr Dixon's head, implying that [his character] 'Dale' would survive if Dixon kept Perry 'happy'". Perry's lawyer denied the allegations and called the lawsuit a 'scam to make money.' 'This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,' his attorney Matthew Boyd said in a media statement. 'But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.' The lawsuit outlines multiple incidents of sexual harassment and assault that unfolded over several years. 'On multiple occasions, Mr. Perry sexually assaulted Mr. Dixon, including one instance where he forcibly pulled off Mr. Dixon's clothing, groped his buttocks, and attempted to force himself on Dixon,' it reads.
