Danny Dyer opens up on first acting role since leaving EastEnders

Chatting to RadioTimes.com and other press about the Australian-set drama, Dyer opened up on what first appealed to him about the story of Heat and his character Steve Cameron.

"It was more the fear of not really getting any work after EastEnders," he explained. "Not going to lie, it came quite early...

"I knew that my contract was ending and I couldn't believe that this job had presented itself to me because, as much as I'd made this huge decision to leave EastEnders and it was the right decision for me for sure, there was no guarantee that I was going to walk straight out and get a job."

The actor continued: "I didn't quite know what the new chapter was going to bring and so, this job I had in place to really help with my transition out of EastEnders as my first acting job. It was so soon, literally a day.

"I wrapped on EastEnders after nine years, had a very emotional leaving party and I was doing my speech and I was thinking, 'S**t have I made a mistake here? I love everybody here so much and it's given me so much, this job.' It didn't last obviously as I thought, 'No, stick to your guns.'"

After reading the scripts for Heat, Dyer said it was clear the drama was "so up [his] street".

"I read this piece of work as well and as the episodes go on, it just became so dark and twisted and brilliant," he said. "The thing about EastEnders is, we tried tackling really difficult subjects pre-watershed.

"And Channel 5, we are tackling some difficult subjects but we can do it post-watershed, which gives you a little more freedom and I wasn't used to doing that of course. It excited me a lot.

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"The fear was: can I do it on the back of really heavy shooting to get out of EastEnders, a day off, pack a bag, fly 22 hours on a plane to the other side of the world without my wife and my children and be jetlagged as f**k and attack this job? I love testing myself and I really did want to test myself with this."

The new series centres on Dyer's Steve as he and his family set off for a holiday at his long-time best friend Brad's new grand home, also with his family. Being best friends since they both lived in the UK, they both made the decision to emigrate to Australia decades ago and life couldn't be better for them both. Or could it?

Their usually cheery holiday is different this year with family drama and secrets threatening to be revealed. According to the series synopsis: "Steve and wife Sarah, and teenage children, Mia and Tom, are impressed and while the reunion is a warm one, tensions quickly simmer under the surface.

"Steve is hiding something, and Mia suspects he has been unfaithful. However, Sarah is the one harbouring a secret – and Brad has an even bigger one he is hiding. As a searing bushfire ravages the surrounding bushland, the shocking truth is revealed."

Speaking about his character Steve, Dyer described him as a "good man", saying: "He's got a good heart, a good soul – he's just made a huge mistake. He's trying to repair his marriage at the beginning, he needs to get his wife in a place where he can break some news to her and hopefully work through it. That's where he's at in the beginning,

"I was trying to do something slightly different with him even though I am a Cockney. I've got an Australian wife and children, but I wanted to try and do something slightly different than Mick, which was difficult because towards the end of Mick in EastEnders, he was quite depressed and down. Very similar to Steve in a way."

He continued: "There's a real journey for Steve. The last episode, for me, I really hope I pulled it out the bag, especially the last few scenes, I think it might be some of my greatest work and I don't say that lightly.

"I think the jetlag and everything really got to me and I was really emotional at the end of this. When all the revelations and everything come out, Steve has to become the alpha whereas Brad has been the alpha throughout."

Heat will debut on Channel 5 at 9pm on Tuesday 11th July and feature nightly until Friday 14th July. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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