Danny Dyer has shockingly admitted he was “off his nut” while on the set of EastEnders, leading to drastic measures by the show’s bosses. The actor dropped some explosive revelations about his stint on the BBC soap, bluntly criticising it as “s*** now.”

At a charity do on Friday, Danny – who’s battled with booze and drugs before – opened up about his tough times after joining the soap, revealing he was often sloshed on set and popping prescription meds. Danny was a fixture on EastEnders for nearly a decade from 2013 to 2022 and even checked into rehab in 2017 to get a grip on his addictions.

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He recounted how the crew intervened when they caught him boozing on set, saying: “When I first arrived the pints were real. I was slipping and sliding around having a few lagers and they found out, so they started to put TCP in the f****** beer!”.

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Despite also being on pills, Danny managed to pull off his role as the beloved Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter. He confessed: “I was off my nut for a lot of that job, I’ve got to say. I was on a lot of valium and diazepam, that is why. Still got that f***III job done somehow.”

Danny Dyer played Mick Carter for nine years
Danny Dyer played Mick Carter for nine years (
Image:

BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Danny didn’t mince words when asked about EastEnders post his dramatic exit, which saw Mick vanishing at sea after saving ex Linda Carter and villainous new wife Janine Butcher during Christmas 2022. His verdict?

“S*** now though, ain’t it,” he added, “Serves them right.”

At the Paul Strank Charitable Trust event in Wimbledon, south London, where he generously donated a hefty sum, Danny got real about the emotional turmoil he faced due to the relentless pace of soap opera filming. He lamented the lack of “duty of care” for actors dealing with intense scenes, reports the Mirror.

“In a film you properly cry and go to a dark place,” he revealed. “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 soaps are off their nut. You meet them on the street and they’re f****** lunatics, I’m telling you.”

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He also expressed frustration over the show’s inflexibility, saying, “If someone dies in your family, they won’t even let you go to a f****** funeral because it is such a machine there wasn’t much duty of care there.”

Danny
BBC bosses stepped in (
Image:

BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
The show’s spokesperson has since countered Danny’s remarks, stating: “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 took on the role of Mick Carter during a rough patch in his career, following the dwindling fame from Human Traffic and The Football Factory, and with debt collectors knocking, despite once vowing never to join the soap.

Danny, aged 47, spilled the beans on his frosty reception at Albert Square. “I will be honest, it is a very clicky place to work,” he revealed.

“We took the pub over from Jessie Wallace and Shane Ritchie. Kat and Alfie had an 11 year run and then they want to get rid of them.”

He continued, airing out the tension: “So they brought us in and they had the hump. That was getting tricky. I was like ‘What’s the matter with these people, I’ve not made this call’. So there was a lot of people blanking us when we turned up.”

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Reflecting on his stint on the show, Danny cherished the early days but felt things took a nosedive later on. “I really cherish those first three years,” he reminisced, “Then a new producer came in and sacked every f*****. It is a very ruthless job. I learned a lot. Nine years was enough for me.”

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