EastEnders Danny Dyer's life – sex confessions, royal link and famous co-star daughter

EastEnders icon Mick Carter is set to depart Albert Square this Christmas – with his soap exit still shrouded in mystery.

Mick actor Danny Dyer announced earlier this year that he would be leaving his iconic role after almost a decade on the soap, with fans currently speculating about what will happen to his character.

However it looks set to be a heartbreaking exit for the character, with EastEnders bosses teasing a “tragic” storyline for Mick.

READ MORE: Danny Dyer to follow EastEnders exit by ‘presenting new Channel 4 reality show’

As viewers wait to see what will happen, Daily Star has taken a closer look inside the life of Mick Carter icon Danny Dyer.

Hollywood fame

Long before he was Albert Square tough guy Mick Carter, Danny rose to fame in a number of big film roles.

These included playing Moff in 1999 film Human Traffic, opposite Life on Mars actor John Simm, as well as appearing in High Heels and Low Lifes in 2001 and The Business in 2005.

Football-loving Danny also starred opposite sporting legend Vinny Jones and Hollywood icon Jason Statham in the 2002 film Mean Machine.

Danny’s Hollywood fame followed a number of notable TV roles, after the star was spotted as a teenager for a role in ITV series Prime Suspect 3.

From there he has not left our screens, appearing in A Touch Of Frost, Skins, Hotel Babylon and Highlander, as well as hosting BBC game show The Wall from 2019, to name a few.

Danny also had a stint hosting documentaries, including 2007’s The Real Football Factories and Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men between 2008 to 2009.

Away from our screens, the star has performed in several theatre productions over the years, and completed voice-over work.

Soap snub

Danny has become an EastEnders icon as Queen Vic owner Mick Carter, but soon after joining the BBC soap in 2013, the actor revealed he had originally turned down a role in the programme.

The actor was originally offered the part of Carl White, the ex of Kirsty Branning, but OK! Magazine reports that he turned down the role as “he worried he would not be able to cope with the pressure of being on the soap”.

Carl was eventually played by actor Daniel Coonan.

However, it would not be long before Danny changed his mind and made his EastEnders debut as Mick Carter, where he has delighted fans for almost a decade.

Despite becoming a fan-favourite, the actor announced earlier in 2022 that he would be leaving EastEnders, with his exit storyline shrouded in mystery.

Speaking on his podcast Sorted With The Dyers, which he does with daughter Dani, the actor shared the reason behind his soap exit, saying: “There’s no big story around it, really. Other than the fact I’ve decided to go off and try some other stuff.

“I’m 44 now, and I’ve had nine years of playing Mick and I think he needs to be rested. I’m still looking for that defining role. Maybe it is there, maybe it isn’t.

“But I’ve always been quite ambitious, and I had quite a long career before I went into EastEnders.

“I know the landscape has changed slightly but I want to go out there and have another go, and the only way I can do that is if I decide to walk away from the job.”

Childhood sweetheart

Away from the limelight, Danny is married to Joanne Mas, who he first dated in 1992.

The childhood sweethearts first met at school and have been together for more than 30 years, during which time they have welcomed three children – Dani, Sunnie and Artie.

However during the past 20 years, the couple did split briefly when eldest daughter Dani was just three years old, with the pair later seeing other people.

Despite this, Danny revealed to The Sunday Times magazine that he had an affair with Joanne while he was seeing other people, and the pair decided to rekindle their romance.

He said: “I missed them both and decided I’d do everything in my power to get them back.

“I used to pick up Dani every Sunday for three hours and cuddle her like mad.”

Danny continued: “I don’t know if Joanne saw how much I missed them, but the visits started getting longer and we’d sit down with a cup of tea.

“Next minute… we’re having an affair. I said: ‘F*** this! We’re sneaking around like schoolkids. We’ve got a beautiful girl. Let’s give it a go.”

Following their long term romance, Joanne proposed to Danny on Valentine’s Day in 2015, with the pair tying the knot during an intimate ceremony in Hampshire.

Speaking to Hello! Magazine about their nuptials, Danny said: “To be standing here with the girl I grew up with – looking so beautiful in her wedding dress – that is a lovely thing.

“Jo is my best girl – the love of my life. Without her, I would be nothing.”

Jo added: “I have dreamed about this day my whole life and I just wanted it to be perfect.”

Sex confessions

Danny has made a number of surprising sex confessions throughout the years – from revealing the age he lost his virginity, to shocking bedroom tips.

Appearing on the Channel 4 series, Let’s Talk About Sex, which saw a handful of celebs chatting about the birds and the bees with their respective family members, Danny revealed that he lost his virginity at the age of 14 years old.

The actor could be seen talking to his daughter Sunnie, where he confessed: “I was having sex before I started puberty. With your mum.”

His daughter was taken aback, saying: “Oh God. 14? You had sex at 14? That’s like me having sex at 14!”

Danny then replied: “Well, that won’t be happening.”

The actor then revealed that his mum never found out, with Sunnie telling him: “Oh, you’ve just exposed yourself. Good luck with that phonecall.”

In a separate conversation with eldest daughter Dani on the podcast Sorted with the Dyers, the actor shared a sex confession that left his daughter mortified.

He shared his shocking tip for lasting longer in the bedroom, saying: “My Nan, rest in peace, her nails would hang over her flip flops. We would often catch her trying to cut them with plyers because there was an 80-year-old nail, you can imagine how tough that was, it was like a f***ing rhino’s horn.

“Interestingly, this is hard to say in front of you. If I am having sex, the way to stop myself climaxing is to think about my Nan’s toenails. I thought I’d declare it to you.”

Dani was obviously horrified, as she replied: “Oh my God! What? Dad!”

“I didn’t know these toenails had such an affect. S***. Thanks for that.”

She added: “I’m traumatised to be honest. There are so many things in my head that I want to delete.”

Royal links

Danny is soap royalty, but did you know he is related to real life royalty too?

The actor appeared on BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2016, where he discovered that he was related to William The Conqueror and King Edward III.

Danny also has links to King Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell, who was his 15-times great-grandfather.

He also discovered that Thomas Cromwell had married his son to Elizabeth Seymour, meaning that he was the 22-times great grandson of King Edward III.

During the programme, the actor was clearly taken back by his ancestral links, as he could be heard saying: “I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to say. I need a moment to digest this. A kid from Canning Town is related to Edward III.”

He added: “It’s ridiculous to think that someone of my stature shares the same bloodline. I can’t compute it.”

Viewers loved the episode so much that the BBC decided to commission further programmes that looked at Danny’s ancestry, with a BBC source telling The Sun at the time: “The reaction to Danny’s Who Do You Think You Are? ­episode was huge last time, so bosses thought they should go back and have another look.

“There is only so much of the genealogy journey you can show in an hour, so viewers will get to have another delve into the deep, dark history of Danny Dyer and Co.”

Subsequently, the BBC broadcast a two part documentary series in 2019 called Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family.

Famous co-star daughter

Danny is not the only famous star in his family, as his daughter – also called Dani – has made waves in the limelight after appearing on the 2018 series of ITV reality programme Love Island.

However, she first stepped into the spotlight after making her acting debut opposite her father in the 2006 film, The Other Half, before appearing in Vendetta, We Still Kill The Old Way, Age Of Kill and ITV2 reality series Survival of the Fittest.

In 2018 though, she won Love Island with ex-partner Jack Fincham, before the pair split later that year.

Since then, Dani has not only made a guest appearance in EastEnders, but also launched the podcast Sorted with the Dyers opposite her famous dad.

They have also hosted the TV series True Love or True Lives together, as well as entertaining fans on Celebrity Gogglebox.

The pair also recently wrapped up filming a new travel show together for E4, with them taking to Instagram to share sweet snaps of them together from their travels.

She captioned the post: “Final week – episode four [tick emoji]. That’s a wrap.

“Had the best time with you [dad] safe to say I couldn’t have done this without you. Living out of a suitcase for a month is definitely not something we are both used to.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk