Danny Dyer says soaps are more 'powerful' than politics

Danny Dyer says soaps like ‘EastEnders’ are more “powerful” than politics.

The 48-year-old actor appeared on the BBC One soap opera as Mick Carter from 2013 until 2022 and revealed that viewers felt encouraged to come out to their dads after Mick’s son Johnny Carter (Sam Strike) was honest with him about his sexuality.

While appearing at the BFI, he said: “I had a lot of guys contact me after the storyline about my son coming out, saying they came out the next day to their dads.

"Because of that. F***** hell, that is a platform, that is powerful sh***. They listen to us more than these c*** politicians. When they get it right, it is f******amazing that show. Whatever it was, it worked. If you can come out to Danny Dyer… whatever that means… it is ok. The producers are very clever.”

The 'Heat' star - who has daughters Sunnie, 16, and Dani, 27, with his partner Joanne Mas, 46 - also attributed becoming a resident of Walford as saving his career after a string of “bad films” and being stuck doing nightclub appearances.

He said: “I had made too many bad films and I was reduced to going to nightclubs and waving off the balcony in places like Kidderminster.

"I couldn’t put the kids through school anymore. I had f***ed it and then I get a call from Dominic Treadwell Collins, who asked me to come down and meet him at The Langham Hotel and I had just about enough petrol to get there! It changed my life and it changed my f***ing career as well.”

Danny shared how he “bamboozled” the bosses with his “cockney slang” and his dream to be an “iconic character” but not too obvious.

He said: "I absolutely bamboozled them with cockney slang. I did it just to wind them up “My first line: ‘has anyone seen my haddock?’ Haddock and Bloater is a motor. I have never really used the word haddock before but I wanted to do something different with it.

“I wanted to be an iconic character in ‘EastEnders’. I didn’t want to be shouty. I wanted it to be nuanced and play it down a bit. They gave me freedom with it.”