The secrets from the Square are revealed

However, while cast and crew have faced many challenges over the years, including high pressure deadlines and developing scripts that would keep viewers on the edge of their seats, nothing prepared the EastEnders team for the horrors of Covid.

If nothing else the lockdown has given creatives a chance to take stock and reflect on the jewel in the Beeb’s drama crown.

In this new series, Glow Up host Stacey Dooley is joined by some of Walford’s biggest stars to relive their characters’ most iconic moments; share behind-the-scenes stories and reveal stuff that is normally kept under wraps.

As any fan will tell you, Danny Dyer wasn’t keen on signing up for a stint in Walford before he finally took the plunge. With a successful career in movies such as Human Traffic, Mean Machine and Severance, there was perhaps little wonder he was more in love with film making than a stint on a weekly soap. After all, many actors would probably prefer to work with the likes of Gillian Anderson in Straightheads, or make hard-hitting thrillers like Vendetta.

It’s not like Danny was desperate to avoid TV jobs. After all, he’d appeared in some of the best loved dramas around, including Prime Suspect 3, Soldier Soldier and Skins. But it was inevitable that he’d land a part in EastEnders one day, and in 2013 Mick Carter was born.

Any qualms he might have had about the soap soon went out the window when he became one of the most popular characters in the show’s history.

“I just wasn’t really that interested. I thought it was going to be obvious,” he remarked seven years ago. EastEnders bosses had approached him before, but the thought of playing a gangster or a villain didn’t appeal. However, the fact his character was taking over the Queen Vic and was an alpha male, “but not in an obvious way”, suddenly Danny realised he had something to work with.

Dyer knew he divided opinion before he became a Walford regular. “At the end of the day I’m an actor, and you either buzz off what I do or you despise it,” he explained.

Thankfully millions who probably weren’t bothered about Danny’s previous roles took Mick Carter to their hearts.

In 2020, there’s little sign of that love affair going sour.

Like many Walford stars, Danny’s on-screen “trouble and strife” Kellie Bright has also been in showbusiness for decades. And like Dyer, she also honed her skills on dramas The Bill and Hotel Babylon, not to mention a string of other projects. You may have also spotted her in the film Kinky Boots, which went on to inspire the hit musical.

Here the actors better known as Mick and Linda Carter talk about an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction and give Ms Dooley a tour of the pub. Plus, Danny also reveals which star sent him a special note before he took over the Queen Vic.

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