IN HIS OWN WORDS: Danny Dyer

With Danny, 41, in the host’s chair for Have I Got A Bit More News For You (10.45pm, BBC1), we look back at what the East Enders hard man has had to say about his life and career…

On his childhood: ‘I wasn’t a bad kid. My dad left when I was young, so I didn’t have much discipline, not that I’m making excuses. I was always out and about and had a good time as a kid, so I’ve done all right.’

On his Jack-the-lad persona: ‘I do walk with a bit of a swagger. I do swear a lot. And people are going to be offended by that. But in this PC world, you can’t be honest.’

On death: ‘When it comes to the end, will I be a burden on my family? I hope to be in my nan’s position, to have got enough respect and love in my life that looking after me is something they want to do. Mind you, look at my habits. I ain’t ever getting a telegram from the Queen, am I? Fags, booze, fatty food. I’ll slip off when I’m in my 60s.’ On his connections to distant relative Thomas Cromwell: ‘He came from a slum, I come from a slum. Cromwell left the country at 14, I started acting at 14. He was a self-taught lawyer, I’m a self-taught actor. Cromwell had two daughters and a son, I’ve got two daughters and a son. Cromwell wrote his last letter to

Henry VIII – begging for his life – on July 24, which is my birthday…

And I drink in the Anne Boleyn pub.’ On the class system: ‘I don’t think you can get any more working class than me. Everyone seems posh to me.’