Danny Dyer stars as self-made man Freddie Jones in the new Disney Plus series Rivals – but what is his life like away from the cameras?
EastEnders actor Danny Dyer has a brand new role in the Disney Plus series Rivals, based on Gilly Cooper’s racy book series of the same name.
Rivals, which airs tomorrow, boasts a star-studded cast that includes David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson and Aiden Turner.
Several other big names have also made the cast list, including: Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Lisa McGrillis, Emily Atack, Luke Pasqualino, Catriona Chandler, Gabriel Tierney, Gary Lamont and Lara Peake.
Danny is set to star opposite Lisa, who plays his wife Valerie Jones, in the forthcoming drama. Off-screen, The 47-year-old is married to his childhood sweetheart, Joanne Mas, and the pair share three children.
Ahead of Danny’s debut in the raunchy new show as self-made man Freddie Jones, we take a closer look at his quiet family life.
Who is Danny Dyer’s wife?
Danny Dyer is married to Joanne Mas, who was his childhood sweetheart. The pair have been together for more than two decades after first meeting at school aged just 14.
Joanne was the main breadwinner in their household as a financial adviser before Danny shot to fame in EastEnders.
She reportedly asked Danny to marry her in 2015 and they wed the following year in an intimate Hampshire ceremony.
At the time Danny told Hello! magazine: “To be standing here with the girl I grew up with – looking so beautiful in her wedding dress – that is a lovely thing. Jo is my best girl – the love of my life. Without her, I would be nothing.”
The pair now enjoy a quiet life together in their lavish Essex mansion, which boasts a large outdoor DIY “igloo” and home gym.
Does Danny Dyer have children?
Danny Dyer shares three children with his wife Joanne Mas, as well as three grandchildren.
Their eldest daughter, 28-year-old Dani Dyer, appeared on Love Island and won it alongside ex Jack Fincham in 2018.
Dani gave birth to her eldest son Santiago, whom she shares with ex Sammy Kimmence, in 2021. The pair reportedly split after he was jailed for for defrauding pensioners and given a three-and-a-half-year sentence.
Dani then found new love with West Ham United footballer Jarrod Bowen, with whom she welcomed twin daughters named Summer and Star in May, 2023. The pair announced their engagement a year later in July, 2024.
Aside from their eldest daughter Dani, Joanne and Danny also share two younger children: daughter Sunnie, 17, and six-year-old son Arty.
The synopsis for Danny’s forthcoming drama series, Rivals, reads: “Set in England 1986, Rivals is an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s second book in the Rutshire Chronicles that follows Rupert Campbell-Black, a notorious rake and famous showjumper before he quit for a career in politics, as he joins forces with his new neighbour Declan O’Hara to overthrow local unscrupulous television magnate Lord Tony Baddingham by bidding for his Cotswolds based independent television franchise.
“But Rupert and Declan’s plans are disrupted by a blossoming romance between the famously womanising Rupert and Declan’s innocent daughter Taggie O’Hara, a love triangle between Rupert, Tony and his right-hand woman, the brilliant American producer Cameron Cook and Declan’s stormy relationship with his wife the dazzling actress Maud.
“In the backstabbing world of television where it is every man and woman for themselves, can ‘true’ love really blossom?”
Rivals premieres Friday, October 18, exclusively on Disney+.
