Danny Dyer reveals what changed his mind on hit new show: "I couldn’t be f**ked to do it, I'll be honest"

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Father-and-daughter duo Danny and Dani Dyer – of acting and reality-show fame, respectively – have been on a mission to save the great British holiday and set their sights on restoring a caravan park in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent.

But were the 48- and 29-year-old up to the challenge? And do they really never argue despite their close relationship on and off screen? Over six episodes of The Dyers’ Caravan Park – which has just been renewed for a second series – viewers have a chance to find out…

Danny, I read that you were hesitant when you were approached about the series. What changed your mind?

Danny: I couldn’t be f**ked to do it, I’ll be honest. Have I got time to be running a caravan park? Not really. Plus I’m an actor, and it’s a very different discipline having three cameras follow you all the time, waiting for you to make mistakes. So, I didn’t know how comfortable I was with that. That’s why I needed Dani.

What do caravan holidays mean to both of you?

Danny: They mean lots to me, not so much to Dani. She’s been there back in the day, but my holiday every year was Canvey Island, Thorney Bay Beach Camp [Essex]. Very much a working-class holiday. My nan and grandad had a caravan, my aunts and uncles, my cousins. It was a family affair, and everyone going there together and hanging out was just the most exciting thing for me.

Dani: I think with caravans, if it’s like going down with your family, like your mum and aunt, your nan, then it’s in you. I think people either love them or they don’t. They’re like Marmite.

The series has been a big hit for Sky, and a second series is coming. Do you hope it’ll shine a light on the caravan site and save the great British holiday?

Danny: That’s the intention. Whether it works or not, I don’t know. A British holiday doesn’t necessarily mean just the caravan. There are other things to do, and there’s a lot of these Airbnb b******s going on at the moment. And you know, if you’re going to choose a coastal town you probably wouldn’t choose Leysdown. You’ve got Devon and Cornwall and all these sexier places. But I suppose for me, it’s about getting working-class voices back on the telly and that charisma that comes with it. This show… I’ll tell you what it’s got, it’s funny, and that wasn’t our intention, but it’s also got heart and soul. It will make you cry at some point.

Have you always been close, or has that changed over the years?

Dani: We never argue – if we’ve ever argued it’s serious, but we don’t. Maybe only over a boyfriend. That’s probably the only arguments we’ve ever had.

Danny: I don’t know what we’d fall out over, I really don’t. I’d back her on anything, and all my kids really.

Filming this series, did you learn anything new about each other that genuinely surprised you?

Danny: We dealt with the stress well. When one was down, the other one would lift them up. Luckily we were never both down.

Dani: We’d have a little moan in the car sometimes.

How similar are you as people?

Danny: Well, we’re both called Danny/Dani Dyer. Although you are now Dani Dyer-Bowen. [She is married to West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen.]

Dani: I’ve kept the Dani Dyer because it just makes more sense, that’s how people know me.

Danny: I want to change my name to Danny Bowen but apparently, it’s a bit weird.

What’s something you admire about each other that you don’t say out loud enough?

Danny: Well, I think our relationship is that we do say it out loud, and that’s what’s important.

Dani: How kind he is. You’re just so lovable and so kind and if I feel sad, I’ll have a phone call off you and you just brighten my mood.

Over the course of your careers, what’s one thing that you’ve taught each other?

Danny: There are certain things when you put yourself in the public eye. Don’t start looking for comments and scrolling – stay away from that. I suppose I’m a lot longer down the line to be able to just take that on the chin now.

Dani: When I went into this industry, he’d already been in it. So [the advice] was very much having the right people around you, having the right circle. Whenever we’re worrying about something, we lean on each other, don’t we?

Speaking of which, was there anything that truly worried you while filming this series?

Danny: I think it was the amount of things the caravan park wanted done. They wanted an outside swimming pool, which is about half a million pounds at least. Not enough stuff for kids was another thing. The staff do an amazing job, but they came back going, “Well, we can’t have this because of that reason…” So we had to get a balance of keeping the older lot happy, your Pats, your Lynns, and also the youngsters.

Danny, I heard you didn’t take to the bingo calling very well?

Dani: You didn’t like bingo, did you? I love a bingo night.

Danny: It was harder than [Harold] Pinter, honestly. I had more nerves doing the bingo than doing a f**king 12-week run in the West End.

All episodes of The Dyers’ Caravan Park are available to stream on NOW

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