TV hardman reveals shock at being labelled a sex symbol as he opens up on having ‘hairy boobs’ on ITV drama
NOBODY is more surprised that Danny Dyer has been reinvented as a sex symbol at 47 than the man himself.
The former EastEnders star thought his days of being lusted after were behind him, until an al-fresco sex scene in Disney drama Rivals turned him into the new housewives’ favourite.
And he’s so proud of his raunchy resurrection, he even flashed his hairy chest in his latest role, on the far more serious debate show The Assembly.
Danny tells the crowd: “It’s a surprise to me — I thought I’d had my days of being a sex symbol. It turns out, actually it’s OK to have hairy breasts because I do have hairy breasts.
“If this can be attractive, yeah, then I’m very surprised.”
His middle-aged sex symbol status as Freddie Jones in the screen adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel came amid a purple patch for the actor, who first found fame in 1999 starring in Human Traffic, when he became known as a professional “geezer”.
Now, 26 years on, he has received his first BAFTA TV nomination for his role in another comedy, Sky’s Mr Bigstuff.
Then in The Assembly, which airs at 10pm this Saturday and Sunday on ITV1 and ITVX, he is one of a number of celebrities who get a grilling on the interview-style show.
Along with David Tennant, Jade Thirlwall and Gary Lineker, he is quizzed by a collective of autistic, neurodivergent and learning-disabled interviewers.
The show’s bosses warned Danny there were three rules: “No question is out of bounds, no subject is off the table, and anything might happen.”
That’s a pretty explosive combination when you’re already talking about the firebrand Mr Dyer.
STARS ALIGN
THE Celebs Go Dating stars look ready for a night out on the town on the new series.
I exclusively revealed yesterday that recently single Christine McGuinness was this year’s stand-out booking for the E4 series, which will follow her on her journey to find love after her divorce from TV’s Paddy.
A first look sees her posing up a storm alongside fellow daters, Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona, S Club hunk Jon Lee, as well as former dating show stars, Too Hot To Handle’s Louis Russell and Love Island’s Olivia Hawkins.
The only celeb missing from the line-up is The Chase star Mark “The Beast” Labbett, who will join the show later.
Cameras will follow the famous faces on dates with non-celebrity partners that have been hand-picked to match their interests, this time in a glamorous location in Ibiza.
The group will be helped by the show’s client co-ordinator Tom Read Wilson, relationship therapist Anna Williamson and life coach Paul C Brunson, with sexual communication specialist Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn there to spice things up.
RICHIE HOLES HIS OWN
HE was no stranger to eye-catching attire on Strictly, but Richie Anderson stepped back into the 17th century as he launched Joe Lycett‘s project “Brum Hole”.
In the project, a portal camera links up Birmingham with numerous places in America of the same name – allowing people from both sides of the pond to chat about their towns.
It’s part of Joe’s new series United States of Birmingham, on Sky Max, and sees him uniting the Brummies of the world on a trip to the US.
Richie dressed up as a Red Coat troop from the Battle of Birmingham Hill, where local townsmen fought against soldiers in 1643.
Joe joked: “It was amazing connecting with other Brummies, and I wanted to share that by looking through my Brum Hole.”
Think I’ll pass on that , Joe.
P DIDDY UNDONE
A BOMBSHELL documentary about accused music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to hit our screens.
Yinka Bokinni will host a one-off for BBC Three, titled P Diddy: The Rise and Fall, which explores the world that propelled him to stardom, and how the system may have protected him for years.
Combs is accused of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, all of which he denies.
It comes after I exclusively revealed Channel 4 were working on a documentary, Diddy: In Plain Sight.
While Netflix are set to release a miniseries.
But it seems the BBC have got in first, airing the show on April 28.
MAL, HAL AND LOIS REUNITE
IT’S been a quarter of a century since Frankie Muniz first appeared in hit sitcom Malcolm In The Middle.
And to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary Frankie, who played Malcolm, reunited with on-screen parents Hal and Lois – Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek.
The trio are filming four new episodes following the dysfunctional Wilkerson family, which will air on Disney+.
Smiling in a photo posted on X, Frankie wrote: “Always good to have Mom and Dad around!”
Original cast members Christopher Masterson and Justin Berfield are set to reprise their roles as Francis and Reese.
The new episodes of the sitcom, which ran for seven series, follow Hal and Lois’s 40th wedding anniversary celebrations.
DAVID TENNANT will helm Have I Got News For You for the ninth time next month, joined by comedian Miles Jupp on the episode which airs on BBC One and iPlayer on May 9 at 9pm.
Fans will get a double dose of David as his new quiz show, ITV’s Genius Game, airs from April 30.
THE scandalous world of Mormon mum influencers is back on show as the second series of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives hits screens on Disney+ on May 15.
It sees the group caught up in a swinging sex scandal and rocked by the uncovering of a secret dating app profile.