Love Island star Dani Dyer has confessed that some Strictly Come Dancing may be expecting to see her EastEnders star father taking part in the 2025 season rather than her
Dani Dyer has admitted fans may have been duped into thinking her father, Danny Dyer, is taking part in the upcoming new season of Strictly Come Dancing.
The 29-year-old reality star is most famous for being the daughter of EastEnders star Danny, 48, and his financial advisor wife Joanne Mas, 48, and for being a contestant on the 2018 season of Love Island. This winter, fans will see the mum-of-three take to the Strictly dance floor as one of the 2025 contestants.
However, the Love Island star – who married West Ham United footballer Jarrod Bowen, 28, in May – has admitted that some TV fans may be tuning in expecting to see her dad, rather than her, taking on the ambitious dance routines. She explained that this is down to the fact her name and her father’s are pronounced the same.
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She told the Daily Mail: “A lot of people when they said Dani Dyer’s doing it, because it was on the radio they probably thought it was the other Danny Dyer.”
Speaking of her dad, she revealed there is one reality show she’d like to see him take part in – but she revealed he would refuse to do it, if asked. She said: “I would like to see him in the I’m A Celeb jungle but he says he never would go in the jungle.”
And she explained further: “He was like: ‘Dan, I’d be bored.’ He’d be snoring everyone to death.” Danny is known to many for playing Mick Carter in EastEnders – a role he held down from 2013–2022.
Since exiting the BBC soap, Danny has gone on to enjoy critical and commercial success playing Freddie Jones in the raunchy Disney+ series Rivals and for playing Lee in the hit Sky comedy series Mr. Bigstuff.
The 2025 season of Strictly Come Dancing has come under fire from some fans for having a lacklusture line-up stuffed full of reality star contestants. Alongside Love Island’s Dani is ex-Apprentice contestant Tom Skinner, former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison, and social media star George Clarke.
The Daily Mail has suggested that show bosses failed to attach bigger names to the 2025 season after Strictly was hit by string of scandals – including accusations professional dancers had abused their celebrity co-stars.
A source claimed: “Yes, the Beeb had to expand their roster as they were struggling to get talent to sign up for a variety of mitigating circumstances.”
But a Strictly spokesperson hit back at the report, telling the Mirror: “This is pure conjecture from the Daily Mail. There was absolutely no difference to the casting process this year, both in timescale and the great mix of names wanting to take part.”
The 2025 season is due to begin on Saturday night on BBC One at 6:40pm. The launch show will see the new contestants being matched with their celebrity partners.
While reigning champions Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell – who won the series in 2024 – will return to take to the floor again, and fans will hear music by Jessie J.
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