'Of course they're still grieving': Why Danny Dyer stepped in and injected new life into Kent caravan park
His new show with daughter Dani, The Dyers' Caravan Park, starts on February 24
Danny Dyer has revealed why he stepped in to breathe new life into a caravan park in Leysdown, Kent.
The ex-EastEnders actor and daughter Dani star in six-part series The Dyers’ Caravan Park, which starts on Sky next week (February 24). In it, they’ll be seen embarking on a mission to save the great British holiday by reviving the Priory Hill caravan park. They want to turn it into the kind of place Danny loved visiting in the 1980s. And the actor invested both his time and money into the project.
Now, Danny – who would consider Celebrity Traitors if the price was right – has shared that he wanted to help revive the park following the death of owner Michael.
Danny Dyer on sadness behind caravan park renovation
Priory Hill is run by co-owners Jimi and Alex Butcher, following the death of their dad Michael. He died in 2019. Before Michael died, he used to host an annual event at the park, that brought families together. However, without Michael, the event “just stopped”. And, after hearing that Michael was “the energy of the place”, Danny set about introducing a new annual event in his memory.
During filming, Danny hosted a sports day, with events such as the Granny Prix and the Grandad National. He told Sky: “I wanted to do it my way – add a little bit of humour to it. I couldn’t believe they used to do this annual event and then it just stopped.
“There’s some really big stuff with Jimi and Alex talking about their dad Michael, who was the energy of the place. He was that caravan park and then he died and, of course, they’re still grieving – they loved their dad very, very much. I was very touched when they said I brought that energy back and I just thought, he loved the inaugural sports day, so let’s bring it back but let’s do it my style.”
‘I think my dad would be proud’
Jimi, who revealed he was unsure if his dad would’ve “gone for the show in the first place”, told how he now reckons Michael would be “really proud” of what Danny, Dani and the team achieved.
“He’d be really happy about us putting the extra nights on, doing a sports day like we did years ago – because those things are hard to host. When you work at a holiday park, 400 families can descend on you and it’s really difficult to keep everyone happy.
“That’s one of the main things Danny and Dani had to pick up quickly because we did the owners’ meeting and I think they were unprepared for it. It started off as suggestions, and it quickly descended into chaos and complaints. So, the sports day is quite an undertaking, and I think my dad would be proud that Danny and Dani arranged that, and we did it again. It was a fun day, and it was carnage, but everyone really enjoyed it.”
‘We’re just trying out best’
Dani, meanwhile, understands the grief the brothers must be feeling as she shares an incredibly close bond with her actor dad. In fact, she’s said that, when he dies, she wants to “stuff him” so that she can always have him around.
“I really would!” she told Sky. “He’s just my best mate. I just adore him. Me and my mum have got the most amazing relationship and I’m really close with my dad as well. I don’t know if it’s because they had me so young and I’ve gone through life with them together, but I just adore that man so much.
“He’s like the naughty boy that I have to rein in a little bit. I always say to him, if he was in my year at school, I would want to be his mate. We just have such a good bond. Obviously, you know, he’s the dad. But we just get on so well.”
She added that grafting at the caravan park and working alongside her famous dad “doesn’t feel like work”. Dani concluded: “We just always work well together, and we know how to be on TV together. Reality TV is my thing, whereas for him he obviously does acting. So, he’s like: ‘Dan, I couldn’t do it without you.’ So, it just works really, really well.
“I think you can tell by watching, we don’t really know how to run a business. We’re just trying our best and giving it a go.”
Read more: Dani Dyer on intense trolling over her parenting skills as they’re called into question
