Danny Dyer: ‘I tried to keep my children away from fame’

The Dyer family has hit stratospheric levels of fame in recent years

EastEnders hardman Danny Dyer has dominated headlines for his antics on and off screen for the past two decades, but in the past 11 months, his daughter Dani has been stealing his thunder.

The 23 year old was an instant fan favourite when she debuted on Love Island in June last year. She refused to have sex on screen and was finally crowned winner with her then-boyfriend Jack Fincham, 26.

Check out: all the Love Island couples and what they're up to now

Since scooping half of the £50,000 prize, Dani has gone on to release a book, What Would Dani Do?, and launched a clothing range for online brand In The Style – yet this isn’t the route her dad intended her to take.

“I begged her not to do Love Island and thought she was making a big mistake,” Danny smiles. “But how wrong was I? It’s only been nine months [since she won the show], but she’s completely rocked all our worlds. What she’s achieved at her age is incredible. She put a completely different spin on Love Island. She did it with integrity and grace.”

Before going down the route of reality TV, Dani wanted to be like her actor dad, having had roles in small indie films We Still Kill The Old Way (2014) and Doghouse (2009).

The 41 year old is famed for his lead roles in gangster films The Football Factory and The Business, and more recently as family man Mick Carter in EastEnders. He admits he was put off Dani joining Love Island by its 2017 winner Kem Cetinay, who won with then-girlfriend Amber Davies.

“I just felt it would be a nightmare for her,” Danny says. “I thought that by going down the reality TV route, she was going to lose respect. I didn’t understand it – all I knew was that Kem won it the year before and I didn’t like the look of him. I also knew there was sex involved, and who wants to see their daughter have sex on television?”

Danny and Jo Mas – who he married in 2016 after she proposed to him – were both just 19 when they had Dani. Three years later, Danny made his movie debut in indie flick Human Traffic, shortly followed by Mean Machine, but wanted to shield his kids from the spotlight.

“Fame is quite an intoxicating thing,” he explains. “It’s alright at first but then it does drive you insane. I tried to keep my children away from it as much as possible.”

Jo and Danny – also parents to daughter Sunnie, 12, and son Arty, five – have recently been guiding their eldest daughter through relationship woes after she split from Jackand received a backlash for reuniting with her former boyfriend Sammy Kimmence.

WATCH Alexandra Cane reveals Love Island's secrets you never knew

READ MORE celeb news

Ant McPartlin 'turned away' after begging to see Lisa Armstrong's dying dad

Love Island's Jess Shears and Dom Lever announce they're expecting a baby

George Clooney just revealed he's been held at gunpoint before

Danny, who appeared in Channel 4’s Let’s Talk About Sex with daughter Sunnie last month, says, “It’s difficult being a parent because no one’s going to be good enough for them – ever. I worship the ground my children walk on, but of course they’ve got to find their way. You can’t pick boys for your daughters – it doesn’t work like that.

"Jo and I had a child very young and you learn every single day how to be a good parent, but it actually turned out we didn’t do a bad job.”

But Danny has been as infamous off screen as has on. His relationship has been tested on several occasions,most recently when claims that he had a six-week affair with former Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding hit the headlines in 2017. Despite that, the pair have remained together, and the actor credits his spiritualism for their “normal” day-to-day life.

Danny adds, “I’m a spiritual man, so whenever you say something you need to ask yourself – is it truthful, is it kind and is it necessary? If it passes through those three gates – then say it.

"Anxiety is hard, and what your brain does to you. You’ve got to take control of it."