Danny Dyer has revealed the moment he realised he had a drinking problem and credited his EastEnders co-star Luisa Bradshaw-White for telling him he had an issue.
The actor, 47, who has been open about his past relationship with drugs, spoke with Louis Theroux, 55, about his struggles on his self-titled podcast on Tuesday.
During the interview, the pair discussed how Danny’s moment of clarity to make a change came after being ‘off his head’ following the NTAs back in 2017.
Louis kicked off the conversation by asking the star: ‘On Desert Island Discs. You talk about not being able to put your trousers on…’ referring to the day after the NTAs.
Danny candidly replied: ‘I had a moment of clarity where I had been on it all night after the NTAs.
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Danny Dyer has now revealed the moment he realised he had a drinking problem (pictured in March 2024)
Danny discussed his moment of clarity to make a change after being ‘off his head’ following the NTAs in 2017 (pictured)
‘I think I’d won and that’s always on like a Tuesday or something and I had to go to work.
‘There’s another thing with EastEnders, is that they go, “Yeah, come celebrate NTAs, but you are up at seven in the morning”. So anyway, I’d just overdone it again and I just could not work out how to get my jeans on.
Wanting Danny to explain further, Louis asked him: ‘Which part of it?’
Danny replied: ‘I was just sitting on my en suite toilet trying to work out what leg goes in what, and I don’t why.
‘I’ve sort of had many of them moments over the years of me being completely off my head.
‘But that one really resonated with me. It was more because I looked up, my wife was just watching me and she looked shattered and she looked ill.
‘And of course, you know, the drug taking and the madness that comes with it, you’re destroying yourself and your body and you’re slowly killing yourself, but you also, you’re really upsetting the people around you.
‘I just looked at her, even through this moment, I was off my head. But everything seemed to just sort of go, what the f*ck are you doing to people around you that love you?
Danny then candidly revealed that he had a ‘moment of clarity’ when he struggled to put his trousers on for work one day after ‘being on it all night’ after the NTAs (pictured this year)
He also credited his EastEnders co-star Luisa Bradshaw-White for being one of the only ones to tell him he had an issue (both pictured 2016)
‘And it was that moment and I could hear Artie, my son, who’s now 11, he must have been 3. He was running around downstairs and I think I’d got rid of the last straggler out the house.’
When asked what the time would have been Danny added: ‘Well it would’ve been about 6.30-6.45.’
Clarifying further, Louis asked the star: ‘What in the morning?’
To which Danny replied: ‘Yeah, So I had a car picking me up to take me to work and it was just this moment I thought, “s**t, you’re going to die.
‘You’re going to kill yourself. You’re not happy. You’re spanking all your money on drugs. You’re destroying everything around you.”
He continued: ‘It’s weird, that moment, because I went straight to work that day and I was a bit off my head and I did say, “Listen, I need help. I can’t do this anymore,
‘I need help. I don’t know what it is, but this is a crossroads in my life where I need a gear change and I need it now and I don’t think I’m going to survive this year”.
Crediting his co-star, he added: ‘And so, you know, I want give a shout out to Louisa Bradshaw White, who played my sister Tina, who really came to the front for me, more than anybody else.
‘She’d always said that she thinks I’ve got an issue and problem. No one else would say that to me… I don’t know, people don’t want to busy themselves in your life either.
‘She would always say, “whenever you’re ready” you know, that was her vibe with me and then I was ready.’
When Louis said he wondered if Louisa had been through something similar, Danny said: ‘She’s had her issues like a lot of people have really, and a lot of people in my life,
In 2019, Danny revealed that in his past he binged on crack cocaine and was in such a ‘dark place’ that he was ‘slowly committing suicide’ (pictured 2019)
He told the i newspaper at the time: ‘I was in such a dark place, I was slowly committing suicide. I had no hope, I hated myself, couldn’t look in the mirror for more than five seconds (pictured 2019)
‘I’ve seen a lot of people go through some quite heavy stuff and always thought, “oh f*cking hell, that’s quite heavy, glad I’m not that bad.” Actually, turns out I was, it just took me a longer route to get there.
In 2019, Danny revealed that in his past he binged on crack cocaine and was in such a ‘dark place’ that he was ‘slowly committing suicide’.
He told the i newspaper at the time: ‘I was in such a dark place, I was slowly committing suicide. I had no hope, I hated myself, couldn’t look in the mirror for more than five seconds.
He recalled one of his darkest moments as staying up all night smoking crack before appearing in his mentor Harold Pinter’s play Celebration back in 2001 at New York’s Lincoln Center.
He confessed: ‘I was abusing myself so much, my brain wasn’t ready and I didn’t have a clue what to say.
‘The blood rushed from my feet to my head and I was petrified. I felt so vulnerable.’
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify and all podcast platforms.
