Danny Dyer's wildest outbursts from sweary TV blunder to 'disgusting' regret

Daily Mirror

17-05-2025

Danny Dyer has let rip on his true feelings about his stint on EastEnders, but the firm favourite of British screens has never been known for holding back - the Mirror takes a look at some of his most hot-headed outbursts
One of the most familiar faces on our screens, Danny Dyer, 47, doesn't hold his tongue. The straight-talking East Londoner has had more than a few fiery outbursts over the years, landing himself in hot water.
Most recently, the Rivals star let rip on his feelings about his nine-year stint on EastEnders, where he played fan favourite Mick Carter and was paid a whopping £250,000 a year.
‌
Speaking at a Wimbledon Football Club charity evening, Dyer slammed some of the storylines he and his costars were given, calling the scripts "s**t". Asked what he thought of the BBC show since he left, he said: 'S*** now though, ain't it,' he shrugged. "Serves them right."
‌
Danny also gave his two pence on one of his final storylines before quitting the hit soap opera in 2022, his character's romance with Janine Butcher, something he called "mental". "You've got to sell this s***, and a lot of it is s**t. You're like, 'What the f*** is this?'. Mick with Janine was mental," he said.
The star also opened up about the emotional rollercoaster and how he struggled with the lack of downtime from draining scenes, saying there wasn't enough 'duty of care'.
"In a film you properly cry and go to a dark place,' he said. 'You have time to recover. But on soap, you ain't. On a soap, it f**** a lot of people's heads up. I tell you most people in soap are off their nut. You meet them on the street and they're f***ing lunatics, I'm telling you. If someone dies in your family, they won't even let you go to a f***ing funeral because it is such a machine there wasn't much duty of care there."
A spokesperson for the show rebuked the claim. In statement, they said: "We would never discuss an individual's private matters however, we do not recognise these claims. EastEnders has extremely robust and well established procedures in place to safeguard the welfare of everyone who works on the show.'
This recent outburst about his former job is by no means the first time that Danny has got candid about his real feelings on the public stage, the Mirror looks back at some of his most hot-headed moments over the years, none of which have ever diminished his popularity for long.
‌
Sweary joke
At this year's Brit Awards, Danny had a couple of candid moments that ended up getting censored during the live broadcast. When he was onstage presenting the award for International Song of the Year ahead of introducing singer Chappell Roan's prerecorded acceptance speech, he joked: "She couldn't be f****d to be here," which ended up getting bleeped out, per Wales Online.
During a conversation with host Jack Whitehall, the Football Factory star also launched into a tirade about Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after being asked who would win his "b*****d of the year award", to which he answered, "So many. This is why the world is being run by cranks at the moment. Probably Sir Keir Starmer".
‌
David Cameron swipe
Taking aim at Keir Starmer isn't the first time Danny went public with his feelings about politicians. Back in 2018, Danny appeared on Good Evening Britain, and he left viewers with no confusion about his opinions on former prime minister David Cameron, who he repeatedly dubbed a "t**t".
The comments were made during a conversation about Brexit, which Dyer called a "mad riddle" as he ranted about how few people actually understood what was going on politically over the issue. "Who knows about Brexit? No one has a clue what Brexit is, yeah. You watch Question Time - it's comedy."
‌
Dyer added, "I haven't got a clue, no one knows what it is, it's like this mad riddle that no one knows what it is, right? So what's happened to that t**t David Cameron who called it on?"
The actor then doubled down on his criticisms of the former PM, "How comes he can scuttle off, he called all this on. Where is he? He's in Europe, in Nice, with his trotters up, where is the geezer? I think he should be held to account for it. He should be held account for it....T**t".
The following year when appearing at the BAFTA Awards, Danny opted to call Cameron a "t**t" for a second time. Last year, in 2024, Danny said on Late Night Lycett to host Joe Lycett that in fact he would change his assessment of David Cameron six years on - to something even more unflattering. "I think I'd like to retract that. I don't want to call him a t**t, I'd like to call him a c**t," the actor clarified, per the Huffington Post.
‌
'Serious error'
In 2010 the actor landed in some serious hot water when a "bad joke" he had made was printed by Zoo magazine, in which he had a weekly advice column. A reader had written in looking for some tips and tricks to stop missing their ex-girlfriend "I'd suggest going on the rampage with the boys, getting on the booze and smashing everything that moves," the advice printed said. "Then, when some bird falls for you, you can turn the tables and break her heart. Of course, the other option is to cut your ex's face and then no one will want her."
The backlash was immediate and swift, and he parted ways with the lad's magazine, and a year later he said to The Independent about the incident: "I think the mistake I made was getting involved with a magazine like Zoo in the first place. It was a column I didn't write. It's a publication that's about being laddy to the extreme. That's what they wanted from me. I'd get rung up by a journalist every week, we'd talk for a little while, they'd ask me about politics, and I'd say something stupid. And I just said a stupid thing. I said a really stupid thing. Which had no substance to it, I didn't mean what I said, at all. And I trusted them that they wouldn't print that.
"The idea of me advising anyone to cut the face of a girl is ridiculous. It makes me f******g disgusted. And with the backlash I got – it was a really dark time for me. People expected me to say something like that because of this persona that I had helped build, this sweary don't-give-a-f***k lad. And they made a serious error to print it because it was like a joke, but a really bad joke that should never have been printed. I sold out."
‌
Awkward awards moment
At the British Soap Awards in 2018, Danny seemingly squared up to TV host Philip Schofield, after the presenter asked if Dany was all right. "Yeah you alright - what you want to make one with me?" Danny said in the moment that was broadcast on live TV.
Schofield then admitted the actor was "scaring the life" out of him, before Danny got up from his seat, to which the presenter said: "Leave it you back off. Sit down I'm in charge here mate."
‌
However, the two men were later seen laughing, so this moment could well have a been a skit planned to entertain viewers.
Isle of Man outrage
In 2005 Danny spent some time on the Isle of Man filming a project, and he was reported to have made some characteristically candid criticisms of the place, much to the chagrin of the locals. Danny is reported to have said the Isle of Man was "lots of horrible little towns where everyone looks like they've been doing their cousins for generations".
However, he later seemed to be pretty apologetic for any offence he had caused, saying to the Metro, "I do tend to open my mouth a little bit. I didn't mean it. They're alright, the Isle of Man. You can drive from one end to the other in 40 minutes. It's a crazy little place but they're very proud of their rock. They make a lot of films there, they're good to the film game. I was just a bit homesick".