Danny Dyer has claimed that his 10-year stint on EastEnders led to him being 'crossed off of every casting sheet'.
The actor, 46, played Mick Carter from 2013 to 2022 and departed after drowning off-screen, trying to save his wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright).
Danny now stars in Sky comedy Mr BigStuff which follows Glen (Ryan Sampson) who faces chaos when his estranged brother Lee (Danny) turns up unexpectedly and disrupts his suburban life.
The star explained to Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Kemi Rodgers on Wednesday why Mr BigStuff is the first of its kind.
Chris asked Danny: 'Am I right in thinking this is your comedy debut, Danny?'
Danny Dyer, 46, revealed on Wednesday that his 10-year stint on EastEnders led to him being 'crossed off of every casting sheet'
The actor played Mick Carter from 2013 to 2022 and departed after drowning off-screen, trying to save his wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright)
Danny replied: 'Yeah, I mean, Plebs was funny I did a little bit in that, but, yeah. Never had a responsibility of playing a lead in comedy things, I was in EastEnders for a long time, and EastEnders is not known for being funny.
'It’s quite dark… I think you get allocated the funny character, I wasn’t that you know what I mean? I was desperate to try a different kind of discipline.
Chris insisted: 'But you must have been offered so many times, those kind of comedy roles, what about this role made you go for it?'
Danny answered: 'Well, not really, I did 10 years on EastEnders, I was out of the game, I was crossed off of every casting sheet, I didn’t exist anymore to the industry.
'That’s the way it works, it’s a great job, EastEnders, it brings you stability, but, at the same time, you can’t go out and do other things, it just isn’t going to happen.
Danny earned a whopping quarter of a million pounds a year during the height of his EastEnders stint.
He also said of his role in 2023: 'The first few years we f***ing smashed it. It was powerful s**t. The viewer listened to us more than these f***ing c* politicians.'
Danny now stars in Sky comedy Mr BigStuff which follows Glen (Ryan Sampson) whose estranged brother Lee (Danny) turns up unexpectedly and disrupts Glen's suburban life
Explaining why Mr Bigstuff is his first lead comedy role, Danny said: 'I was in EastEnders for a long time, and EastEnders is not known for being funny'
He continued: 'I did 10 years on EastEnders, I was out of the game, I was crossed off of every casting sheet, I didn’t exist anymore to the industry'
Danny finished: 'That’s the way it works, it’s a great job, EastEnders, it brings you stability, but, at the same time, you can’t go out and do other things, it just isn’t going to happen'
Mick was introduced to EastEnders as established character Shirley (pictured, played by Linda Henry) and Tina Carter's younger brother
Mick was introduced to EastEnders as established character Shirley and Tina Carter's younger brother.
However, it was later revealed that Mick was actually Shirley's son and that her mother had raised him as her own after Shirley tried to drown him.
Mick struggled to accept this, and his relationship with Shirley became even more complicated when his half-brother Dean Wicks assaulted his wife Linda.
Listen to Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Kemi Rodgers weekdays from 6 am to 10 am
