Danny Dyer opens up about his EastEnders exit after bashing the soap and his co-stars in furious tirade
reflected on his decision to quit EastEnders after he won a BAFTA Television Award on Sunday.
The actor, 47, scooped Male Performance in a Comedy for his role in Mr. Bigstuff, despite facing stiff competition from Bilal Hasna, Dylan Thomas-Smith, Nabhaan Rizwan, Oliver Savell and Phil Dunning.
Speaking in the press room after his win, Danny reflected on his varied career as he mused: You're only as good as the job in front of you really and it's getting the opportunities.
'It's also difficult to just get a job and so to get to this stage when you're getting awards and stuff, it is a journey.'
Referencing his time on the BBC soap, he continued: 'I've been around a long time and EastEnders changed my career for so many different reasons but unless you roll the dice and you decide to see what else is out there, you never know...
'It's working out really well for me at the moment. I'm having a lovely time but it can always go tits up. I know how this game works, I've had my ups and my downs but I'm just really grateful for it.'
Danny starred as Mick Carter on EastEnders for nine years, earning a whopping quarter of a million pounds a year at the height of his stint, before his explosive exit on Christmas Day 2022.
However, last week, Danny didn't have much positive to say about the soap, as he slammed the workload, declared he had been 'off his nut' on prescription drugs and had ended up in rehab twice because of the show.
Calling out co-stars Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie, Danny brazenly branded them 'c***s' as he claimed they had blanked both him and his onscreen wife Kellie Bright.
Recalling his arrival on the soap in 2013, the Rivals star said it was not a warm welcome, describing the set as 'a very cliquey place to work'.
He claimed his taking over the Queen Vic caused Jessie and Shane, who played previous pub landlords Kat Slater and Alfie Moon, to 'have the hump'.
According to The Sun, Danny boldly said: 'There were a lot of people blanking us when we first turned up and me and Kellie thought "You know what, f**k these c***s, let's get together and show them something different" - we had to prove ourselves over six months.'
Danny also hit out at the soap opera's storylines, particularly Mick's 'mental' romance with Janine Butcher, insisting 'a lot of it is s**t'.
As well as being unimpressed with his own character's fate, he raged over the decision to kill off Lola Pearce last year from a brain tumour, which he said 'wasted' actress Danielle Harold's talents.
The Sun also claimed he slammed the BBC for not giving the cast sufficient duty of care, claiming they wouldn't allow actors time off to go to a family member's funeral - allegations which the BBC has denied.
Danny - who was paid around £250,000 a year on the soap - said that while the salary was good, the stars had 'no life' and claimed the dark storylines 'messed lots of people's heads up', insisting they were 'lunatics'.
'You earn good money, but you ain't got time to go to a cashpoint, you have no life,' he said.
'There's not much duty of care, that's the truth, on EastEnders there is no messing about and you've got to do it, it's the hardest part of our job.'
'It messes a lot of people's heads up, most people are off their nut, you meet them on the street, they're lunatics I'm telling you - institutionalised,' he added.
He also claimed that bosses put antiseptic into the beer barrels in the Queen Vic in order to prevent him from drinking from them.
In response to Danny's comments, a spokesperson for EastEnders stated: '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.'
Danny also spoke about EastEnders on the BAFTAs red carpet.
He told Sky News: 'It's a roll of the dice leaving EastEnders it gives you sustainability but it is a risk and it has paid off for me.
'I don't know what is going on at the minute, I'm just rolling with it at the minute, it is a bit odd. I'm so proud of this Sky show and I'm happy to represent that show and I've got the Rivals lot here, I've just seen them.
'Two very different shows, I've been around a long time and I've done good and some bad stuff. I've had a good run this year, I'm getting nods now and I would love to nip this one but I've got to stay grounded and keep the ego grounded.'
2025 TV BAFTA AWARDS - ALL THE WINNERS
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International
After The Party (Channel 4)
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Anna Maxwell Martin, Until I Kill You (ITV1)
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Lola Petticrew, Say Nothing (Disney+)
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David Tennant, Rivals (Disney+)
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Martin Freeman, The Responder (BBC One)
Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Toby Jones, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office (ITV1)
Female Performance in a Comedy
Anjana Vasan, We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4)
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Ruth Jones, Gavin & Stacey (BBC One) - WINNER
Sophie Willan, Alma's Not Normal (BBC Two)
Scripted Comedy
Alma's Not Normal (BBC Two) - WINNER
Brassic (Sky Max)
G'Wed (ITV1)
Ludwig (BBC One)
Specialist Factual
Atomic People (BBC Two) - WINNER
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
Children of the Cult (ITV1)
Miners' Strike 1984: The Battle For Britain (Channel 4)
Reality
Dragons' Den (BBC One)
The Jury: Murder Trial (Channel 4) - WINNER
Love Is Blind (Channel 4)
The Traitors (BBC One)
Current Affairs
Storyville: Life and Death in Gaza (BBC)
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Factual Entertainment
In Vogue: The 90s (Vogue Studios, Disney+)
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P&O Cruises Memorable Moment
Bridgerton: The carriage scene, where Colin admits his true feelings for Penelope (Netflix)
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale: Smithy's wedding, when Mick stands up (BBC One)
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office: Jo Hamilton phones the Horizon helpline (ITV1)
Rivals: Rupert Campbell-Black and Sarah Stratton are caught in a game of naked tennis (Disney+)
Strictly Come Dancing: Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell waltz to You'll Never Walk Alone (BBC One) - WINNER
Traitors: 'Paul isn't my son … but Ross is!' (BBC One)
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