Danny Dyer reveals how dressing dilemma made him give up drugs

By Jenny Garnsworthy, PA reporter

Actor Danny Dyer has spoken about the moment he realised he needed to give up drugs – when he could not work out how to put his trousers on following a night of partying.

Appearing on The Louis Theroux Podcast, the former EastEnders star described the moment he knew he was “destroying” his life after celebrating a win at the National Television Awards (NTAs).

“I just could not work out how to get my jeans on.

“I was just sitting on my en-suite toilet trying to work out what leg goes in what,” he told Theroux.

“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.”

Dyer, who has spoken before about his drug abuse, said he knew it was having a bad effect on his wife Jo, as well as their children.

He added: “It was just this moment, I thought, shit, 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.”

Dyer, who has been filming the second series of hit drama Rivals, also spoke of his frustration at being encouraged to talk in an American accent as he tried to build a career in Hollywood a few years ago.

He told Theroux that, instead of convincing them with an American accent, “everyone thought I was Australian”.

Dyer added: “They wanted me to live there for six months, and I had small children and I hated the fact that they wanted me to speak American all the time, which is what you’re meant to do out there.”

He told Theroux that he is extremely proud of his upcoming film, Three Quick Breaths, in which he plays the only role, describing it as maybe “my Hamlet”.

“We shot it in 10 days in Dublin and I had to learn 15 pages a day,” he said.

“Maybe this was my Hamlet, maybe that narcissist in me thought, can I be the only one in a film? I watched it and I’m really proud of it.”

The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify and all podcast platforms.