Mick’s Wonder Walford Stag do!

When Danny Dyer was asked to come up with ideas for Mick’s Stag do, he pitched something of a Champagne Supernova to the production team.

“We wanted a stag that he’d want to go to!” explained Executive Producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins.

“Dom came to me and said, ‘Look, I want a Danny Dyer stag night,’” added the man who plays the fictional groom. “And I was like, “Are you sure about this?’”

“So I thought, ‘I’m running the most famous pub in the world, so we’re going to have it there, obviously.’ Now I love Oasis, so we got the Noasis tribute band and vodka going through an ice sculpture luge! It’s like the ultimate bender in The Vic. It’s an honour; a privilege. You go, ‘Wow, I own that boozer. So to have a Stag where I had an input to have a bit of a say in it, I’m really proud of that. It’s a naughty stag, I tell you.”

Danny went on to reveal that the Carters have a very dark Christmas ahead, as well as some very humorous moments too. It’s something he feels the show excels at.

“I think the beauty of EastEnders is that it is dark, and we do ‘dark’ so well. So when you have light-hearted moments, which are so rare, you really relish them. No disrespect to the other soaps, as Corrie is known for its comedy and we’re known for the darkness. But when EastEnders is funny, it’s really funny, and when it’s dark it’s done in such a way… It’s shot beautifully and it’s high class television. It’s powerful stuff that you’re watching and that you’re believing – and that’s the key to it.”

A key element of Christmas and New Year is the relationship between Mick and Dean, and how the rape storyline will progress and perhaps conclude. “The whole Dean thing, where people were getting a little bit like ‘Why is this dragging on, why hasn’t he been arrested?’ This does happen in real life. People are raped by people they know and [who still] walk the streets. But we did this big, heavy battle with Dean. It’s a sad, sad story. He is my brother and it could have been so different.”

The 'battle' involves an amazing stunt sequence in which the Carters make a splash on the day of Mick and Linda’s wedding.

“We went to Pinewood and we did it properly. For some of that stuff I was fighting for my life in real life because I couldn’t quite find the surface! I had to have my earhole syringed. There was a lot of lake in my earhole! It’s a strange feeling, but you’ve got to commit to it and we’re all committed as actors, producers, writers and directors. We love the show and we’re obsessed with it.”

“I’m really proud to be part of this show and I think it’s such a powerful show and I think we’ve taken it to another level. I’m so proud. You never get used to being in this show. It’s very, very hard work but it’s so rewarding. You go home drained but you know it’s worth it. You sit down and watch it and go, ‘Wow, I’m a part of that. That’s a beautiful thing.’”