Danny Dyer unrecognisable in first ever TV appearance with Hollywood A-list star

Danny Dyer looked very different in his first TV role(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)

One of EastEnders’ biggest stars made their small screen debut alongside a British acting legend.

Danny Dyer is now a familiar face thanks to the BBC soap and shows such as Rivals, but he looked very different when he shared the screen with Dame Helen Mirren back in 1993.

Just 16 at the time, Danny was cast in ITV crime drama Prime Suspect. He played tricky teenager Martin Fletcher, who got involved in a murder investigation and clashed with Helen’s character DCI Jane Tennison.

ITV shared a clip from the episode on Instagram ahead of the start of Danny’s new quiz show Nobody’s Fool, commenting: “Imagine your first ever TV appearance at 16 being opposite Helen Mirren.”

Danny Dyer was 16 in his first TV role(Image: ITV screengrab)

In the clip, Danny is seen with long hair and a scraped face as he is interrogated by Tennison, looking very different to how he does now.

The detective is quizzing him about what happened to his face and he tells her: “You know the escalators? Top of King’s Cross. I was coming down them, and my coat got caught, and I fell forward and I hit my face. And then I got up and I fell over again and I hit my nose. Nobody hit me.”

“So you lied to the police officers?” the detective asks. “Yeah, I suppose so,” he says.

The actor played a troubled teen in the series(Image: ITV screengrab)

The clip was shared alongside a teaser from Nobody’s Fool, which Danny is hosting with his Rivals co-star Emily Atack. It shows the pair welcoming contestants to a lavish property.

After getting his TV break in Prime Suspect, Danny went on to other shows such as The Bill, Skins, Hotel Babylon, A Touch of Frost.

Other small screen outings included Soldier Solider and Family Business.

Danny Dyer appeared alongside Dame Helen Mirren(Image: ITV screengrab)

In 2004 he starred in the film The Football Factory and in 2013 he bagged the role of Mick Carter in BBC soap EastEnders, which made him a household name. The actor was an Albert Square favourite for many years but said goodbye to Walford in 2022.

Danny is currently starring as Freddie Jones in Disney+ series Rivals, an adaptation of late author Jilly Cooper’s book which also features Emily, Alex Hassell, David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson and Aidan Turner.