Danny Dyer has said that his children regularly tell him off for swearing at home because they are “well brought up kids”.
The EastEnders star also said that his expletive-laden acceptance speech at the National Television Awards (NTAs) in January was his “alpha male” way of counter-balancing his emotional state, because he just wanted to cry.
The actor, who has been filming new BBC game show The Wall, said that due to having to keep his language clean at work, he gets a “serious case of Tourette’s” when he gets home, but that his two younger children do their best to keep him straight.
He told The Jonathan Ross Show: “I’ve got to get it out of my system. I can’t do it at work and they (my kids) pull me on it. They’ll go ‘Dad, you’re swearing again!’
“I’ll be watching football, the other night I was watching the results come in for the Cup and we lost and I was upset (and swore).
“They are well brought up kids, they go to good schools, they are articulate.”
Of his daughter Sunnie, 12, he said: “She is a lovely kid, very smart, very switched on. A very middle class kid.”
Referring to his son Artie, five, he added: “They both are. It’s mad, they came from me but they’re really well spoken, it’s crazy to me.”
He and his wife Joanne Mas are also parents to 23-year-old Dani Dyer, who won Love Island last year.
Dyer, 42, is known for his colourful language and earlier this year became emotional during his acceptance speech at the NTAs for winning best serial drama performance for his portrayal of Mick Carter in EastEnders.
Host Dermot O’Leary was forced to apologise to viewers following Dyer’s stint on stage.
Dyer told Ross: “I did swear but I was very emotional. I’m trying to cut down on it.
“I nearly started to cry, it was an emotional thing for me, I don’t know why and so I swore just to… I’m an emotional man.
“I tried to counter-balance it and be all alpha male when really I just wanted to sob my heart out in front of 10,000 people.”
Dyer, who was better known for roles in the films Mean Machine and The Football Factory prior to EastEnders, said that it is “mad” that he is now recognised as an actor, “because towards soap there is a bit of snobbery and I think I was part of that mob when I was making films.”
“You think you’re cool and cult,” he added.
“I never really got acknowledged for being an actor until I went into a soap.
“I know there’s a lot of people out there who don’t get me on any level and I totally respect that but there are people who want to vote and say ‘We really like what you’re doing’.
“I don’t think they vote for me as a person, or even as an actor, I think they vote for the character. I’ve been blessed with a really good character and that’s maybe what they vote for… It’s such an honour to be given that moment of glory.”
The Jonathan Ross Show, which also stars McFly, Roisin Conaty, Mo Gilligan and Dermot Kennedy, airs on Saturday October 5 at 10.30pm on ITV.
