Former EastEnders star Danny Dyer is swapping serial drama for comedy in his new series Mr Bigstuff – but his comedic timing isn’t the only skill he gets to show off throughout.

When I sat down with Danny and his co-star and Mr Bigstuff writer Ryan Sampson, there was one thing I was desperate to know: Would they ever do Strictly Come Dancing?

In the new Sky Max series, which tells the story of Danny’s character Lee exploding back into brother Glen’s – played by Ryan – life while running from a past he’d rather forget, there are a number of unexpected scenes featuring the art of ballroom dance.

‘I did put a lot of salsa dancing in it…’ Ryan admitted, sharing the reason for this artistic choice.

‘I think a surprise dance is, for me, chef’s kiss. There’s some dances in places where you just don’t see them coming.

‘As for Strictly, hell no!’

With Ryan out of the running for the next series, Danny was quick to agree with his sentiments, and he didn’t hold anything back.

‘No, I’m too lazy,’ he pointed out. ‘And I don’t want to be the joke one on it. Because that will be what it’ll become, me trying to suck my belly in, smothered in sequins. I don’t mind the spray tan thing, I like all that, but that live telly thing – and also being judged! I’m not good at being judged.’

However, he was quick to backpedal as he revealed the one thing that would make him change his mind…

‘Although, if the money was right… I’d take it all back and yes, I would do it in a heartbeat!’

Dyer for Strictly 2024?

It could be an opportunity for Danny to add another string to his bow, after tackling comedy for the first time in Mr Bigstuff.

‘Danny hadn’t really done comedy before,’ Ryan revealed, ‘And he’s taken to it like a very funny duck to water.’

‘Comedy is such a different discipline [to serial drama],’ Danny agreed. ‘It’s very lighthearted. It’s a joy, actually. And you’re doing four or five pages a day. That takes a while to adapt to again. The pace is a bit slower‘There’s no discipline like serial drama, in the sense of how much you do. You’re shooting a film a week, essentially. There’s 120 pages a week. And it’s multi cam, as well, which was a revelation to me when I went into it, because I’d only done film previous to that.

‘I quite liked it, at first, the idea of just blocking something and then having two takes and moving on. I was like, “Oh, right, you’ve got to be on it.” You know what I mean? They’re not going to give you another take.

‘And sometimes they get it right, and it’s a beautiful thing, and it’s a huge platform, and it reaches a lot of people. But I feel if you stay in it too long your storylines start coming back round to you again, of course, naturally.’

Danny also explained how roles aren’t always guaranteed for a working actor, so to have a series like Mr Bigstuff come along was ideal.‘It’s a tricky one, our industry. No one’s guaranteed anything. You never quite know where it’s going to take you.

‘And of course, you can get institutionalized in these shows. You’re not around anymore, you’re not about. So, to be out and free to choose what I want to do again, you want something cool and something that you think you can shine in, and this landed on my lap and I was like, “Yes!”.’

With this in mind, will Danny ever end up accepting an offer to do Strictly? Well, they now know exactly how to make him say yes!