Former EastEnders star Danny Dyer admits joining soap 'saved his life' in heartbreaking admission

The actor has been missing from the show since Christmas Day of 2022

Former EastEnders star Danny Dyer has said that joining the soap ‘saved his life’ in a heartbreaking admission.

Joining the BBC soap as Mick Carter in 2013, Danny was a fan-favourite on the BBC soap until he was written off in the 2022 Christmas special.

The former Queen Vic pub owner’s final months in Walford saw him get married to Janine Butcher, who was pregnant with his former child.

To the delight of viewers, Mick reunited with his former wife Linda Carter once he learned that Janine was conning him.

Discovering that Janine framed Linda for drink driving, a car chase broke out that resulted in the three of them ending up in the sea at Dover.

Playing her final trick on Mick, Janine lied that Linda was still in the water and Mick swam out to sea to find her, not to be seen since.

With the character presumed dead, Danny provided an insight into what EastEnders means to him in the first episode of The Assembly.

Featuring Gary Linker, David Tennant and Jade Thirlwall, the ITV series sees famous faces being interviewed by a group of autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled interviewers.

Asked about Mick’s exit, Danny said: "I did that job for nine years. I got to a point where I made a lot of mistakes in my life and no one would hire me anymore.

"Then EastEnders came along and they said, 'We love you, we want to put you in the Queen Vic'. It saved my life because I had bailiffs at my door and I thought, 'Oh s**t, I'm going to lose my house’.”

Describing his time on the programme as ‘incredible’, Danny admitted things changed when a new producer came in to run the show.

He explained: “The new producer came in and he didn't like the Carters so he started to sack people, my son [Lee Carter, played by Danny Hatchard], my daughter [Nancy Carter, played by Maddy Hill].

“They've still got Kellie Bright in it, who played my wife Linda Carter, but then what they done was they split me up with Kellie and they put me with Janine.

"So when the producers said to me, 'You're going to be with Janine,' I went, 'Janine? But she murders people’.”

Danny added: “I thought, 'Oh no, if I stay too long, she'll kill me.' So I thought, 'I've got to get out,' so basically I went in the sea and I was never found again."

An interviewer named Harry decided to ask Danny the question on everyone’s lips as he quizzed the London native on if he will ever return to EastEnders.

“Listen, if it all goes t**s up, then I'll turn up in the pub with seaweed all over me,” he joked.

The Assembly airs on ITV1 and ITVX on Saturday, April 26, at 10.05pm