DANNY Dyer has slammed EastEnders co-stars Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie as “c**ts” after they blanked him when he first joined the soap.
The actor – who played Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in the BBC soap – spent nine years in the role but, despite being a fan favourite, it wasn’t all plain sailing behind the scenes.
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He’s told how when he arrived on the show in 2013 , Jessie Wallace, 53, who plays Kat Slater, and Shane Richie, 61, who plays Alfie Moon, were not very welcoming.
Speaking at a charity night at Wimbledon Football Club on Friday, he said: “When I first came in it was a very cliquey place to work.
“We took the pub (Queen Vic) over from Shane and Jesse.
“Kat and Alfie had an 11 year run and then they wanted to get rid of them so they brought us in and they had the hump.
“They were getting prickly about us coming in.
“I was like, ‘What is the matter with these people? I have not made this call.’”
Danny claims Jessie and Shane also gave actress Kellie Bright, 48, who played his on-screen wife Linda Carter, the silent treatment as well.
He said: “There were a lot of people blanking us when we first turned up and me and Kellie thought ’You know what, f*ck these c*nts. Let’s get together and show them something different.’”
“We had to prove ourselves over six months.
“It was hard work. Then a new producer came in and sacked a load of people.”
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The actor quit the show in 2022 having struggled with the constraints of being in a soap while his final storyline seeing Mick coupled with killer Janine Butcher left him unimpressed.
Danny also had a dig at the soap’s scripts and Mick’s romance with megab**ch Janine Butcher, played by Charlie Brooks, 44.
He said: “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.”
Danny also blasted the show’s decision to kill off Lola Pearce, played by Danielle Harold, 32, with a brain tumour last year.
He said: “I felt for her. They came up with a storyline saying you’re going to die of brain cancer. She’s so incredible as an actress. She was wasted.
“OK, it’s a brilliant story and you leave, but it’s EastEnders — anyone can come back.”
During the boozy bash Danny also confessed bosses banned him from drinking alcohol in the Queen Vic and even put antiseptic in the beer barrels. He said: “When I first arrived on set I was slipping around the side and having a few lagers and they found out so they started to put TCP into the beer.
“I wasn’t off my nut. I had a drink every now and again.”
Danny Dyer’s career so far
By Conor O’Brien
Danny Dyer has played several film and TV roles across a three-decade acting career.
Here’s a look back at some of his most memorable performances.
- Prime Suspect (1993): Danny made his screen debut in an episode of the long-running ITV police procedural. He appeared as a character named “Martin Fletcher”.
- Human Traffic (1999): Danny’s debut film saw him portray “Moff”, a dealer. Directed by Justin Kerrigan, the coming-of-age comedy drama also featured John Simm, Andrew Lincoln and Richard Coyle.
- Mean Machine (2001): An adaptation of The Longest Yard, this sports comedy also featured Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. Danny played “Billy the Limpet”.
- The Football Factory (2004): Loosely based on the novel of the same name by John King. Danny led the cast of this sports drama, directed by Nick Love. He portrayed “Tommy Johnson”.
- EastEnders (2013-2022): Danny appeared in the London-set BBC soap opera for almost a decade. He played Queen Vic landlord “Mick Carter”, opposite Kellie Bright as his on-screen wife Linda.
- Rivals (2024): The actor was among an all-star ensemble cast in this Disney+ series based on Jilly Cooper’s novel. Danny played the role of “Freddie Jones”.
Danny, paid around £250,000 a year on EastEnders, claimed bosses axed the Sunday omnibus in 2017 because it cost too much money.
EastEnders has been contacted for comment.
He has gone on to land critically-acclaimed roles including the Disney Plus dramatisation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s novel Rivals.
The Sun revealed how the show was returning for a new series this year with filming beginning on the bumper-sized 12 episode run this month.
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