Danny Dyer admits EastEnders character Mick ‘lost his way’ and ‘people don’t watch it’

Danny Dyer has opened up on his departure from EastEnders, admitting that he ‘didn’t know’ who he was playing anymore.  

The actor, 45, recently quit his role as Mick Carter on the BBC soap EastEnders after nine years.

Viewers were forced to say goodbye to Danny’s character on Christmas Day when he was lost at sea during a tense festive special.

But reflecting on his show exit, Danny has now admitted that he became disillusioned with his character and felt like Mick had ‘lost his way’.

Danny’s character came into the show back in 2013 with wife Linda (Kellie Bright) and their children.  

Candid: Danny Dyer has opened up on his departure from EastEnders, admitting that he ‘didn’t know’ who he was playing anymore

But after the happy couple’s initial stint, things would eventually change, with teenage sweethearts Mick and Linda parting ways and Mick re-marrying Janine Butcher, played by Charlie Brooks.

‘I didn’t quite know who I was playing anymore,’ star Danny told The Sun of his later storylines. ‘It was an odd thing.’  

Discussing his reasons for leaving the show, Danny also claimed that, in recent years, he’s been constantly told by people that they no longer watch EastEnders.

He said: ‘All I got for the past couple of years was, “You still in that EastEnders? I don’t watch it anymore.” Constantly, that was the thing.

‘When I first came in there was like seven or eight million people watching it, of course because of streaming services and all that stuff a lot less people do watch it.

‘It was more that people didn’t watch it anymore: “You still in that?” it was all that sort of dialogue.

‘It was a lot of people, a lot of young people, young people don’t watch it.’ 

When Danny joined the BBC One show in 2013, EastEnders was regularly getting up to eight million viewers a night, but in the past year those figures have gone down to roughly 2.5 million an episode.

End of an era: Reflecting on his show exit, Danny has now admitted that he became disillusioned with his character and felt like Mick had 'lost his way'

End of an era: Reflecting on his show exit, Danny has now admitted that he became disillusioned with his character and felt like Mick had ‘lost his way’

Although Mick is presumed dead because his body was not found, Danny also admitted he is not closing the door on a return to EastEnders in the future in the same way Harold Bishop returned to Neighbours after he was believed to have drowned. 

He said: ‘I had a good reaction from all that. I was very surprised by the amount of love I got from it, really. I didn’t quite know how that was going to go down.

‘I do remember Harold Bishop, a few people have mentioned that to me because he died and then he came back, he washed up funnily enough, lost his memory. 

‘Who knows? They’ve kept it open, I could turn up in three years smothered in seaweed. I went to Canvey, I thought I’d go and get a caravan on Canvey Island.’

Danny recently addressed his EastEnders exit with an expletive-laden explanation while lounging on a beach in a sun-soaked location, which was later revealed to be Australia. 

Dramatic: Mick got lost at sea during Danny Dyer's explosive finale on Christmas Day

Dramatic: Mick got lost at sea during Danny Dyer’s explosive finale on Christmas Day

Danny, whose character was ‘killed off’ after he appeared to drown, joked it has been a ‘c*** of a swim’ as she shared a hilarious video with fans.

Danny relaxed on the sand while smoking shisha and downing tequila as he assured fans he was ‘sweet as a f***ing nut’ following his exit from the soap. 

He said: ‘It was very emotional last night. It was a very nutty episode. But don’t be concerned… because I f***ing made it!

‘It was a c**t of a swim but let me tell you now, it was worth it. Mick needed a rest, it was time for him to move on, new chapter. 

‘I want to take this opportunity to thank all my cast mates, every single one of you, I love you all very dearly, I’m very honoured to have worked with you for as long as I have and I’ll relish those moments for the rest of my life.

Drama: The character was killed off in true soap style as he attempted to save ex-wife Linda's (Kellie Bright) life after she and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) drove off a cliff and into the English Channel

Drama: The character was killed off in true soap style as he attempted to save ex-wife Linda’s (Kellie Bright) life after she and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) drove off a cliff and into the English Channel

‘I’m not going to name names, there’s too many of you but of course my Carter family who mean everything to me – it’s the end of an era. I’m very grateful and I really appreciate the years that I’ve had running the Queen Vic.

‘So again, don’t stress and especially the fans who have voted for me and invested in Mick and made him the character that he is.

‘But he had to get away… Janine was driving him f**king mad! So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and don’t worry about Mick… [drinks tequila and smokes] because he’s sweet as a f**king nut!’ 

Danny’s video received a quick response from his friends and fans.

His daughter Dani, replied: ‘So proud of you! Love you so much.’

Meanwhile his co-star Bobby Brazier shared a series of laughing faces. 

Viewers were led to believe that Danny took his final breaths as character Mick.

It appeared that his character was killed off in true soap style as he attempted to save ex-wife Linda’s (Kellie Bright) life after she and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) drove off a cliff and into the English Channel.

Exit: The actor, 45, recently left his role as Mick Carter in an explosive Christmas Day special after nine years on the show

Exit: The actor, 45, recently left his role as Mick Carter in an explosive Christmas Day special after nine years on the show

His heroic act came after Mick learned the truth about wife Janine’s framing of Linda and confessed his love for the latter, before dramatically exiting the show in a nail-biting finale which saw him lost at sea.

And recently sharing some behind-the-scenes info on filming, Danny admitted that the dramatic scenes were actually filmed ‘in a tank of vegetable juice’. 

Mick’s exit came as he, Janine and Linda all came head-to-head in an explosive finale at the White Cliffs Of Dover – after learning that Janine was responsible for the car crash that Linda took the blame for in previous episodes.

In a dramatic car chase, Janine attempted to escape her husband and his ex-wife as they tried to make her pay for her crimes, driving quickly away towards Dover.

But not letting her get away, Linda jumped into the passenger seat and wrestled with Janine for the steering wheel – leading to them losing control of the car and rearing off the side of a cliff, into the English Channel.

Following behind was Mick, who got out of his car and made a jump into the water to rescue them after realising what had happened.

The duo were submerged in water and trapped in Janine’s car, before Mick managed to rescue Janine and take her back to land, before jumping back in for Linda.

But unbeknownst to Mick, Linda was already out of the water and had made her way to land, leaving a struggling Mick nowhere to be seen in the water.

Speaking on the filming process of the scenes, Danny recently told The Sun that to mirror the water, he was submerged in vegetable juice.

‘My last scene, I was smothered in broccoli. The water tank, they fill it with broccoli juice to make it green. It is like a bath temperature. I was very tearful and I was all emotional — but I smelt like broccoli. It softened the blow,’ he shared. 

Actor Danny announced that he would be stepping down from his role as Mick Carter back in January after joining the show in 2013.

And the exit certainly lived up to bosses’ hints , which previously teased that the exit would be ‘explosive’. 

Made it! The actor, 45, whose character was 'killed off' after he appeared to drown at sea, joked it has been a 'c*** of a swim' as she shared a hilarious video with fans

Made it! The actor, 45, whose character was 'killed off' after he appeared to drown at sea, joked it has been a 'c*** of a swim' as she shared a hilarious video with fans

Made it! The actor, whose character was ‘killed off’ after he appeared to drown at sea, joked it has been a ‘c*** of a swim’ as she shared a hilarious video with fans

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