INTERVIEW WITH DANI DYER – RECRUIT NUMBER 4 (BRITISH)

Age: 28

From: Essex 

Occupation: TV Personality

IG: @danidyerxx, TT - @danidyerbowen

Dani Dyer is a television personality who rose to fame after winning Love Island in 2018 and has since appeared on a range of shows including Dani Dyer: Is This Anxiety? (C4), Greggs v McDonalds: The Fast Feud (C4), and Celebrity MasterChef (BBC). The daughter of actor Danny Dyer, she is extremely close to her family and has starred alongside her parents on Celebrity Gogglebox (C4), Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy (C4), True Love or True Lies (MTV), and The Dyers’ Caravan Park (Sky), as well as co-hosting the podcast Live and Let Dyers. Married to footballer Jarrod Bowen with three children, Dani has also climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief and is now taking on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, a show she has long admired—despite admitting water challenges scare her the most.

Why did you want to take part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?

You know what, I’ve always been a massive fan of the show and I remember watching a series that Georgia Harrison had done thinking that I really feel like I want to do it. And so when the opportunity came around, I just couldn’t say no.  These sorts of opportunities don’t really come around often so I just thought, let’s have a go, let’s see if I can actually do it.

Before you took part, what were you hoping to get out of the experience?

I just wanted to see if I had some balls.  I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Pre-kids I always loved a roller coaster and all that, but the older I’ve got, the more fear I’ve felt and, you know, you don’t really ever get to channel that fear, do you? So I just felt like I just wanted to see if I can do it, if I’ve got some strength, because I’m not going to lie, I am a little bit of a scaredy cat. 

I recently took my son to a water park and as I was walking up the stairs to go down the slides I thought, why the hell am I nervous walking up these stairs? Have I got a fear of heights all of a sudden? So by coming on this course, I wanted to have a go and sort of test myself.

Did you do anything before to prepare?

Yes, I did a lot of boot camp training, like outdoors and stuff, because I don’t really do a lot of outdoor training. I think when you start signing up to gyms, you become a little bit of an indoorsy person because I used to love it. I used to do half marathons with my uncle.  We’ve done Tough Mudders. I used to really love doing that sort of fitness side of things and then when I had kids, training for that sort of stuff slowed down. So I sort of had to up the ante and do outdoor boot camp training. And do you know what, that sort of training, well I mean it is so much harder than running on a running machine in the gym.

What was the hardest challenge for you during the course?

I think anything that was water based. I’ve always had a bit of a fear of water. I’ve never been a confident swimmer. I think now with the kids, I sort of realised, especially after doing Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, that I really need to get in the water more. I mean, my son is really doing well with his swimming now and I want to be able to do that with my twins because learning how to swim is so important. 

I’ve always found swimming really boring and that’s now brought on the fear of being scared of the unknown and water. So every time I’d see a little bit of water on the challenges, I’d think, oh my God, here we go.

What fears did you overcome?

My main fear that I overcame was probably going underneath the water because there were some tasks where we just had no choice and we had to do it. 

I never really knew I was scared of heights until I was put in front of a task with heights, so just getting up there and doing it, made me really proud of myself because I've now realised that I'm basically scared of everything.

What was your lowest moment and what got you through it?

There was one day when we had to do a really spontaneous challenge but we were just so exhausted. Everything was hurting. There was literally nothing left inside of us but we had to go on a hike.  I started walking and I was already out of breath. I was like, God, I can’t. My back was hurting, there was 15 kilograms of sand in our bergens and I was just exhausted. And there were moments where I thought, I think I’m going to have to give up. I really think I cannot, because my back was just in so much pain. And obviously you’re carrying these water tanks and chains around during the time. To be fair, the tyres weren’t as bad as the chains. 

But if it wasn’t for Chris, I would not have got up there, because he shouted a little bit, going, “come on Dani, one step ahead, one step.” I was at the back and he kept saying it didn’t matter. “One step ahead, one step ahead. You’ve got this, you’ve got this,” he said, and then I got to a certain point and Billy said, “if you don’t get up here in 30 seconds, you can take that fucking armband off.” So then, with whatever I had left in me, I just thought I’ve got to get up here. 

Afterwards Gabby and me were sobbing because there at the time we thought there was nothing left in us. And I had nothing more to give. But I thought if I take my armband off now, I know I’m going to regret it. 

Do you feel like it was a lot of mind over matter?

Yeah, because I think as soon as in your head you go, I’m not going to be able to do it, then your body starts giving up. But as soon as I focused on my breathing and listened to what Chris was saying, just thinking about putting one step in front of the other, I started to forget about how much pain I was in. 

What did you think of the DS? 

Oh, they’re brilliant. I mean, the amount of respect I’ve got for them and what they do -  they’re incredible human beings. Yes, they are hard on you. Yes, they shout at you when you get things wrong.  But they do want you to do well. They do push you. I’ve never been pushed so much in my entire life, but you need that in a sense. They know when you’re being a bit pathetic, but they also know when you’re in pain and when you’re struggling. They are in your ear, but when you get to the end of a challenge, say “well done.” 

But there were certain challenges when they looked at me and would use my surname and tell me I was absolutely dire or diabolical. But then there were other challenges where they were like, “wow.” And when you get that little pat on the back and they tell you they’re proud of you, it’s like the best thing in the entire world. It pushes you to do more.

Did you find it hard being on the course alongside so many athletes and sportspeople?

I think when the DS saw me, they probably thought, “oh, she’ll be gone in a day.” It took time before I really started thinking I could actually do this. Because I was against so many athletes, rugby players, Olympians, I kept thinking these people were so much fitter than me. And I’ve always been a bit of a comparer. I go, “oh, can I do it? I’m only five foot two. Am I going to be able to have the strength to do it?” And the DS used to say to me, “ this is your own journey. You don’t have to be the fastest. You don’t have to be the fittest. You just have to give it a go.” And I remember after a few days I thought, well actually I’m still here. Let’s just keep going. This is my own thing!

How was the living situation?

The toilet situation was horrendous. We lost all dignity on day one. It was open toilets, 50-degree heat, it smelled awful. We were pooing on poo, putting sand on top. Washing armpits in sinks. Showers were pointless because you’d get dunked in mud. My toenail came off. My feet were covered in blisters. 

If there was one luxury item you could have brought onto the course with you, what would it have been? 

Probably a some more face cream or a bit of concealer for under the eyes. We were all sharing this one brush because we weren’t really allowed these kinds of luxuries. But Emily’s brush did get through. And our hair was so matted, our hair was just falling out because, you know, it was just so knotted, it was covered in mud. But yeah, I would have loved more like creams and maybe a bit of lip gloss, because everything was just so dry and chapped.

How did you find the heat? Did it make the challenges more unbearable?

Yeah, the heat was really hard. And especially because it isn’t the sort of heat you enjoy in your bikini. You are dressed in long sleeved tops, which you need, because if you burn then you are in trouble.  And I remember in challenges, just trying to get from place to place to place felt like it was never going to end because we were so thirsty in the heat.

Do you feel like the show brought out a different, more vulnerable side of you?

Oh yeah. I’ve never done a show like this ever. In Love Island, I cried a little bit, but this is so different. I definitely felt my worst on it. So for me to show that side of me is petrifying. You don’t know what way it’s going to go.

Do you feel like becoming a mum gave you a different toughness to help you get through Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?

Yeah, I think it has. When you’re a mum, you’ve got to be a bit of a tough guy. All you ever want to do is nurture your kids, look after them, make them the best human beings they can be. So for me now, being able to do a show like that, if they ever want to do anything hard, I can say, you can do it. If mummy can do it, you can do it.

Who did you bond with the most while you were there?

I loved Gabby and Emily. Emily was a mum too, so it was really nice having another mum in there because we both really missed our kids. We sort of took it in turns supporting each other.  I didn’t realise how funny Australians were. Ben was great. I loved Jack, Cole, and Graeme. They were all lovely. But Gabby, from the moment I met her, we just clicked.

Did having funny characters in the group make it easier?

Yeah, because you need to laugh. Even when you’re going through hell, you need to laugh at the end of it. We’d always get back to base and try to have a giggle. We were always on edge, always sh*tting ourselves, but we managed to laugh. There were no egos in there. We all supported each other.

What was the first thing you did when you left the course?

I had a bath and a shower. I ordered a margarita pizza with fries. My toenail came off and my feet were covered in blisters. When my nail lady saw my feet, she was horrified.

What is the one key memory that will stick with you forever from Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?

Completing the tightrope challenge. When I did that, I literally felt like I’d won the lottery. So many people failed that one. I didn’t look down. I just kept looking ahead. When I finished, I was like, I am superwoman.

If you had any advice for someone going on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in the future, what would it be?

Literally enjoy it. I know how hard it is, but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Train as much as you can beforehand. The DS are on your side. They want you to do well. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can get to the end.