Danny Dyer 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 compeтιтion 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 тιтs up. I know how this game works, I’ve had my ups and my downs but I’m just really grateful for it.’
Danny Dyer reflected on his decision to quit EastEnders after he won a BAFTA Television Award on Sunday, days after he launched into a furious tirade about the soap
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.
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 in 2022
Read More All the moments you DIDN’T see at the BAFTA TV Awards 2025 
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 – insтιтutionalised,’ 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 recently called out co-stars Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie. The Rivals star branded them ‘c***s’ as he claimed they had blanked both him and his onscreen wife Kellie Bright
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
Drama Series
Blue Lights (BBC One) – WINNER
Sherwood (BBC One)
Supacell (Netflix)
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC One)
Limited Drama
Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Lost Boys and Fairies (BBC One)
Mr Bates vs the Post Office (ITV1) – WINNER
One Day (Netflix)
International
After The Party (Channel 4)
Colin From Accounts (BBC Two)
Say Nothing (Disney+)
Shogun (Disney+) – WINNER
True Detective: Night Country (Sky Atlantic)
You Are Not Alone: Fighting The Wolfpack, Netflix
Leading Actress
Anna Maxwell Martin, Until I Kill You (ITV1)
Billie Piper, Scoop (Netflix)
Lola Petticrew, Say Nothing (Disney+)
Marisa Abela, Industry (BBC One) – WINNER
Monica Dolan, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office (ITV1)
Sharon D Clarke, Mr Loverman (BBC One)
Leading Actor
David Tennant, Rivals (Disney+)
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Lennie James, Mr Loverman (BBC One) – WINNER
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)
Kate O’Flynn, Everyone Else Burns Channel 4)
Lolly Adefope, The Franchise (Sky Comedy)
Nicola Coughlan, Big Mood (Channel 4)
Ruth Jones, Gavin & Stacey (BBC One) – WINNER
Sophie Willan, Alma’s Not Normal (BBC Two)
Scripted Comedy
Alma’s Not Normal (BBC Two) – WINNER
Brᴀssic (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)
Maternity: Broken Trust (ITV1)
State of Rage (Channel 4) – WINNER
Ukraine’s War: The Other Side (ITV1)
Shortform
Brown Brit (Channel 4)
Peaked (Channel 4)
Quiet Life (BBC Three) – WINNER
Spud (BBC Three)
Factual Entertainment
In Vogue: The 90s (Vogue Studios, Disney+)
Race Across The World (BBC One)
Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour (BBC Two) – WINNER
Sort Your Life Out (BBC One)
Children’s Scripted
CBeebies As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe (CBeebies) – WINNER
Horrible Histories (CBBC)
Ready Eddie Go! (Sky Kids)Tweedy & Fluff (Channel 5)
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)
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell’s Strictly waltz scooped the award for P&O Cruises Memorable Moment
Male Performance in a Comedy
Bilal Hasna, Extraordinary (Disney+)
Danny Dyer, Mr Big Stuff (Sky Comedy) – WINNER
Dylan Thomas-Smith, G’wed (ITV2)
Nabhaan Rizwan, Kaos (Netflix)
Oliver Savell, Changing Ends (ITV1)
Phil Dunning, Smoggie Queens (BBC Three)
Danny Dyer won Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for Mr Big Stuff
Supporting Actor
Ariyon Bakare, Mr Loverman (BBC One) – WINNER
Christopher Chung, Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC One)
Jonathan Pryce, Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
McKinley Belcher III, Eric (Netflix)
Sonny Walker, The Gathering (Channel 4)
Supporting Actress
Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer (Netflix) – WINNER
Katherine Parkinson, Rivals (Disney+)
Maxine Peake, Say Nothing (Disney+)
Monica Dolan, Sherwood (BBC One)
Nava Mau, Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Sue Johnston, Truelove (Channel)
The 1% Club lost out for Best Entertainment Show
Entertainment
The 1% Club (ITV1)
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show (BBC One)
Taskmaster (Channel 4)
Would I Lie To You? (BBC One) – WINNER
Entertainment Performance
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV1)
Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors (BBC One)
Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show (BBC One)
Joe Lycett, Late Night Lycett (Channel 4) – WINNER
Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett, Rob & Romesh Vs (Sky Max)
Stacey Solomon, Sort Your Life Out (BBC One)
Factual Series
American Nightmare (Netflix)
Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams on Tour (BBC One)
The Push: Murder on the Cliff (Channel 4)
To Catch a Copper (Channel 4) – WINNER
Live Event Coverage
D-Day 80: Tribute To The Fallen (BBC One)
Glastonbury 2024 (BBC Two) – WINNER
Last Night of The Proms (BBC Two)
News Coverage
BBC Breakfast: Post Office Special (BBC One) – WINNER
Channel 4 News: Inside Sednaya (Channel 4)
Channel 4 News: Undercover Inside Reform’s Campaign (Channel 4)
Single Documentary
Hell Jumper (BBC Two)
Tell Them You Love Me (Sky Documentaries)
Ukraine: Enemy In The Woods (BBC Two) – WINNER
Undercover: Exposing The Far Right (Channel 4)
Soap
Casualty (BBC One)
Coronation Street (ITV1)
EastEnders (BBC One) – WINNER
Sport
Euro 2024 (BBC Sport)
Paris 2024 Olympics (BBC Sport) – WINNER
Wimbledon (BBC Sport)
Daytime
Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure (BBC Two) – WINNER
Loose Women (ITV1)
Morning Live (BBC One)
Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC Two)
Children’s Non Scripted
BoosNoo! (Sky Kids)
FYI Investigates: Disability and Me (Sky Kids) – WINNER
Operation Ouch! (CBBC)
Reu and Harper’s Wonder World (Channel 5)
BAFTA Fellowship
Kirsty Wark – WINNER
