Danny Dyer has revealed he was driven out of his home by neighbours who ‘resented’ him (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Danny Dyer has revealed that he was driven out of his house in a posh neighbourhood.
Not dissimilar to his character in the hit show Rivals, Danny, 47, said he was looked down on by his neighbours and even suffered acts of vandalism.
The actor stars in the Disney+ series as a successful entrepreneur who is looked down upon by the upper-class residents of the Cotswolds town of Rutshire, based on the Jilly Cooper novel.
It turns out his character’s experience is not unlike one he and his wife faced after moving into a four bedroom home in Essex.
Danny told The Mirror: ‘When I moved in people were milling around saying, “What are you doing moving around here?” questioning me, thinking I was a multi-millionaire, (but) I wasn’t.’
He went on to say that the larger house was actually a big step up for his family, but people in the area seemed to dislike him because of his character on Eastenders.
Danny’s experience echoes that of his character in Rivals (Picture: Robert Viglasky/© 2023 Disney)
He said he used to wake up to find people had thrown eggs at his house.
He continued: ‘Then it started to get a bit more naughty and they started chucking vodka bottles and s*** – I don’t know what the f*** I’d done but it was my character in EastEnders they didn’t like. It must have been.
‘We moved to where we live now, which is lovely.’
Danny has gotten a lot of praise for his role in mega-hit Rivals, with many admiring his range in managing to play someone so unlike his usual ‘hardman’ roles.
Rivals has been a smash hit and an artistic departure for Danny (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Disney+)
Known for his roles in films like Human Traffic and The Football Factory, to his geezer-about-town Mick Carter in EastEnders, Dyer has certainly gone out of his comfort zone as the soft spoken and sensitive Freddie Jones on Rivals.
Danny’s co-stars include David Tennant and Aidan Turner, but Danny’s Freddie has captured the attention of many.
Freddie is routinely belittled by his wife Valerie Jones (Lisa McGrillis) and pining after his neighbour, writer Lizzie Vereker (Katherine Parkinson).
Danny manages to play the role with compassion and tenderness.
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