Danny Dyer says daughter’s footballer husband is ‘my hero’

Rivals star Danny Dyer has said his daughter’s husband, West Ham player Jarrod Bowen, is his “hero”.

The 48-year-old actor, known for playing Mick Carter on BBC soap EastEnders, is a lifelong fan of the east London team and walked Dani Dyer-Bowen down the aisle at her wedding to the club captain in May 2025.

Dyer said it was a “big thing” to give his daughter away, however he praised his son-in-law for being an “incredible man”.

He told ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show: “He’s my hero and she… married him. It’s incredible.

“He’s an incredible man but it’s a bonus, I can’t lie.”

He later joked: “I was due it really, because he ain’t her first fella is he?”

Dyer-Bowen appeared on the fourth series of the ITV dating programme Love Island and went on to win it alongside Jack Fincham.

After their split, she rekindled her romance with Sammy Kimmence before the pair broke up again. He was jailed for three-and-a-half years in 2021 for defrauding two pensioners out of more than £34,000.

She tied the knot with England and West Ham footballer Bowen in May 2025.

Appearing on the show alongside her father, Dyer-Bowen added: “Yeah, you deserved someone like Jarrod.

“I kissed a few frogs and got my prince.”

Dyer is known for starring in the hit Disney+ show Rivals based on the best-selling novel by the late Dame Jilly Cooper.

He will reprise his role as businessman Freddie Jones in the upcoming second series, which he alluded would have even more raunchy scenes than the first one.

He said: “I got away with it last time. I don’t get away with it this time.”

He also joked to Dyer-Bowen: “I don’t think you’ll be able to watch much of it.”

The father and daughter duo will also front a brand new Sky Original series, The Dyers’ Caravan Park as the pair try to restore a caravan park to its former glory.

The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 9.25pm on ITV1 and ITVX.