What scares EastEnders hardman Danny Dyer?

The BBC show will feature a week of live episodes to mark its 30th anniversary in February, and the 37-year-old actor, who won the serial drama performance prize at the National Television Awards, admitted he is nervous about it.

“I’m petrified. I’m not going to lie to you,” he said backstage at the awards.

“I’ve done (Harold) Pinter on stage, I’ve done Broadway, but the live episodes leave me petrified. We’re doing five episodes, but one is an hour (long), so it’s six really. But I think it’s like television history so it’s an honour to be part of it.”

Danny continued: “I think you’ve got to be petrified – I ain’t going into it giving it the big ‘un because it’s a real big ask and we all know what it entails.

“I’ll just be so happy when we wrap up on the Friday if it’s gone well. I know people watch it because it’s live and they want to see things go wrong like a boom drop into shot… It is scary, though. But you know what, bring it on.”

Danny, who plays Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in EastEnders, said the show has rejuvenated his love for acting.

“At that point in my career, I was a car crash, and I think people wanted to see me fail,” he said.

“I’m so glad I did this. Having that responsibility, taking on the Vic, I’m so glad that it’s reined me in and it’s made me concentrate and focus. I forgot about the love of acting, which I love to do.”

He continued: “And can I just say something about soap acting? It’s so hard. I had to draw on all my experience to get through it – it’s so truthful every single day.

“There’s so much dialogue involved and to create a character that anyone gives a f*** about every day is a difficult thing. It’s drained the life out of me but I love it.”

The 30th anniversary week is set to reveal Lucy Beale’s killer, with former stars Barbara Windsor, Jo Joyner and John Partridge returning to Albert Square.