Danny Dyer has teased season two of smash hit series Rivals and lifted the lid on his career reinvention since his EastEnders exit in 2022.
The actor, 47, who plays Freddie Jones in the saucy Disney+ show, reassured fans that they have no need to worry about the new instalment failing to live up to its predecessor.
He told Radio Times: ‘I can’t reveal much, but what I will say is that we’ve got no issues with the old second album syndrome. I’ve been blessed with a lovely character. He’s not the lead and he doesn’t need to be the lead, same as Katherine [Parkinson who plays love interest, Lizzie Vereker]’.
Danny, who won a BAFTA earlier this year for Sky comedy Mr Bigstuff, also revealed there would be a ‘bit more’ of his character’s love life in the new episodes.
He also spoke about his other roles including the sole character in a new movie, which he said had first been offered to Oscar winner Sir Gary Oldman, 67.
He told the publication: ‘Fifteen pages of dialogue a day. Crazy. We shot it in Dublin. I just sat in the hotel room with the script. Went crazy by the end. I believe they went to Gary Oldman first. They told me he wanted £2 million just to read it’.
Danny Dyer, 47, has teased season two of smash hit Disney+ series Rivals and lifted the lid on his career reinvention since his EastEnders exit in 2022
The actor, who plays Freddie Jones in the saucy show (pictured) reassured fans that they have no need to worry about the new instalment failing to live up to its predecessor
He also spoke about his other roles including the sole character in a new movie, which he said had first been offered to Oscar winner Sir Gary Oldman, 67 (pictured)
‘But I was next in line, which I’m chuffed with. If you go Gary Oldman and I’m next, it’s because I’m obviously cheaper. I’m happy to be a cheaper version of Gary Oldman.’
MailOnline have contacted Gary Oldman’s representatives for comment.
Alongside the interview Danny looked dapper in a suit as he posed for a fun shoot in a pub with Mr Bigstuff co-star and creator Ryan Sampson.
Danny starred as Mick Carter in the BBC soap for nine years, earning a whopping quarter of a million pounds a year at the height of his stint, before his explosive exit on Christmas Day 2022.
Earlier this year he reflected on his decision to quit the BBC soap after he won his BAFTA and beat off stiff competition from Bilal Hasna, Dylan Thomas-Smith, Nabhaan Rizwan, Oliver Savell and Phil Dunning.
Speaking in the press room after his win, Danny reflected on his varied career as he mused: You’re only as good as the job in front of you really and it’s getting the opportunities.
‘It’s also difficult to just get a job and so to get to this stage when you’re getting awards and stuff, it is a journey.’
Referencing his time on the BBC soap, he continued: ‘I’ve been around a long time and EastEnders changed my career for so many different reasons but unless you roll the dice and you decide to see what else is out there, you never know…
He teased: ‘I can’t reveal much, but what I will say is that we’ve got no issues with the old second album syndrome.
![. I've been blessed with a lovely character. He's not the lead and he doesn't need to be the lead, same as Katherine [Parkinson who plays love interest, Lizzie Vereker]' (pictured together)](https://www.americanpolibeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1752543038_687_Danny-Dyer-teases-season-two-of-saucy-hit-series-Rivals.jpg)
. I’ve been blessed with a lovely character. He’s not the lead and he doesn’t need to be the lead, same as Katherine [Parkinson who plays love interest, Lizzie Vereker]’ (pictured together)
Speaking about his new film role he said: ‘Fifteen pages of dialogue a day. Crazy. We shot it in Dublin. I just sat in the hotel room with the script. Went crazy by the end’
‘I believe they went to Gary Oldman first. They told me he wanted £2 million just to read it’
Alongside the interview Danny (L) looked dapper in a suit as he posed for a fun shoot in a pub with Mr Bigstuff co-star and creator Ryan Sampson (R)
He sported his tash from Rivals and revealed the second series was currently filming in Bristol
Danny starred as Mick Carter on EastEnders for nine years, earning a whopping quarter of a million pounds a year at the height of his stint, before his explosive exit in 2022
‘It’s working out really well for me at the moment. I’m having a lovely time but it can always go tits up. I know how this game works, I’ve had my ups and my downs but I’m just really grateful for it.’
Danny hasn’t had much positive to say about the soap, as he slammed the workload, declared he had been ‘off his nut’ on prescription drugs and had ended up in rehab twice because of the show.
Calling out co-stars Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie, Danny brazenly branded them ‘c***s’ as he claimed they had blanked both him and his onscreen wife Kellie Bright.
Recalling his arrival on the soap in 2013, the Rivals star said it was not a warm welcome, describing the set as ‘a very cliquey place to work’.
He claimed his taking over the Queen Vic caused Jessie and Shane, who played previous pub landlords Kat Slater and Alfie Moon, to ‘have the hump’.
According to The Sun, Danny boldly said: ‘There were a lot of people blanking us when we first turned up and me and Kellie thought “You know what, f**k these c***s, let’s get together and show them something different” – we had to prove ourselves over six months.’
Danny also hit out at the soap opera’s storylines, particularly Mick’s ‘mental’ romance with Janine Butcher, insisting ‘a lot of it is s**t’.
As well as being unimpressed with his own character’s fate, he raged over the decision to kill off Lola Pearce last year from a brain tumour, which he said ‘wasted’ actress Danielle Harold’s talents.
The Sun also claimed he slammed the BBC for not giving the cast sufficient duty of care, claiming they wouldn’t allow actors time off to go to a family member’s funeral – allegations which the BBC has denied.
Earlier this year he reflected on his decision to quit the BBC soap after he won his BAFTa=A
He called out co-stars Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie (pictured) Danny brazenly branded them ‘c***s’ as he claimed they had blanked both him and his onscreen wife Kellie Bright
Danny – who was paid around £250,000 a year on the soap – said that while the salary was good, the stars had ‘no life’ and claimed the dark storylines ‘messed lots of people’s heads up’, insisting they were ‘lunatics’.
‘You earn good money, but you ain’t got time to go to a cashpoint, you have no life,’ he said.
Read Danny’s full interview in Radio Times out now
‘There’s not much duty of care, that’s the truth, on EastEnders there is no messing about and you’ve got to do it, it’s the hardest part of our job.’
‘It messes a lot of people’s heads up, most people are off their nut, you meet them on the street, they’re lunatics I’m telling you – institutionalised,’ he added.
He also claimed that bosses put antiseptic into the beer barrels in the Queen Vic in order to prevent him from drinking from them.
In response to Danny’s comments, a spokesperson for EastEnders stated: ‘We would never discuss an individual’s private matters, however, we do not recognise these claims.
‘EastEnders has extremely robust and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the welfare of everyone who works on the show.’
Danny also spoke about EastEnders on the BAFTAs red carpet.
He told Sky News: ‘It’s a roll of the dice leaving EastEnders it gives you sustainability but it is a risk and it has paid off for me.
‘I don’t know what is going on at the minute, I’m just rolling with it at the minute, it is a bit odd. I’m so proud of this Sky show and I’m happy to represent that show and I’ve got the Rivals lot here, I’ve just seen them.
‘Two very different shows, I’ve been around a long time and I’ve done good and some bad stuff. I’ve had a good run this year, I’m getting nods now and I would love to nip this one but I’ve got to stay grounded and keep the ego grounded.’
Read Danny’s full interview in Radio Times out now.
