Dani Dyer says there is one family tradition she shares with her father, Danny Dyer, that her husband Jarrod Bowen can never be part of. The TV personality said the pair cherish the rare time they get together, but added that her children are almost always in the middle of it.
“We don't live together so I think when we actually get to spend time together, we really appreciate it,” Dani Dyer said. “Because usually when I'm with him, I've got my three kids, they're running around the house so we can barely have a conversation.”
The 28-year-old said the simplest moments have become the most valuable ones, from chatting on the way to filming to sharing downtime after a long day. “You really take advantage of your parents when you live with them, and then when you move out you're like, 'Can I come to stay at your house again?'” she said. “I'll leave the kids with Jared and just pop round so I can be looked after.”
She also said the rhythm of her family life leaves little room for long meals or relaxed evenings when she is with her dad. “Obviously, Jared doesn't really eat takeaways because of work, so sometime son a Friday night, I'll leave the kids with him and go round and we'll have a Chinese and a beer. I mean, what more could a woman want?” she said. On the journey to filming, the pair can talk properly. Once they arrive, the day fills up fast. On the way home, Dani said, one of them is usually asleep.
The remarks come as Dani and Danny work together on the Sky Original series The Dyers' Caravan Park, which follows them as they buy and try to breathe new life into Priory Hill Caravan Park in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent. Dani said the project has also helped rebuild her relationship with her father off-screen, adding a layer of personal meaning to what might otherwise have been a straightforward family TV project.
That off-screen reconciliation gives the series a weight that goes beyond the caravan park itself. Danny Dyer, known as a devoted dad and former EastEnders actor, is back in the frame with his daughter at a point when both say they are making the relationship work in real life, not just on camera.
Dani was speaking on May 3 at Chessington World of Adventure, where she and her three children, Santiago, Summer and Star, joined six families and their assistance dogs for a first glimpse of the park's new PAW Patrol-themed area. She said the outing mattered because it gave families something special to share. “As a mum, I'm always on the lookout for days out that feel really special for the kids, and meeting these real-life hero does who help families every single day is exactly that,” she said. “The PAW Patrol pups are all about teamwork and helping others, so seeing the assistance dogs come along with their owners, meet their PAW Patrol counterparts, and be 'part of the patrol' has made it such a lovely inspiring day.”
The picture that emerges is of a family life split between work, children and the small pockets of time that are now precious to Dani and Danny. Jarrod Bowen, her footballer husband and West Ham captain, stays outside one of those rituals by design, while the relationship with her father appears to be getting another chance because both are putting in the work.
