EastEnders boss denies claims that Danny Dyer threatened to punch Phil Mitchell

The rumour mill is going from bad to worse for poor Danny Dyer, who has barely left the headlines after it was confirmed that he will be taking a break from BBC soap EastEnders due to exhaustion.

Since his short hiatus from the show was announced, all sorts of sources and insiders have come forward to claim that there is more to his departure than meets the eye, accusing Danny of being too much of a party animal to do his job effectively, causing unrest among the rest of the EastEnders’ cast.

Over the weekend, the soap’s bosses defended the Cockney star, who plays lovable Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter, stating: “Danny is always a consummate professional.

“Danny has never walked off set, nor has he ever lost his temper or been rude to anyone at work.

“Danny is an extremely popular member of cast and respected by everyone on the show.”

And now they have been forced to speak out once again, this time defending Danny amid claims that he threatened to punch co-star Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell in the soap.

The Sun claimed that there has been “a huge amount of tension” between Danny and Steve, with it all coming to a head when Danny said he “wanted to punch” the veteran actor.

A source alleged: “EastEnders might be trying to paint a picture of harmony but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“It’s Steve who has more support. A lot of people find Danny a nightmare to work with.”

The insider also claimed that Danny was on bad terms with Steve’s onscreen brother, Ross Kemp, who returned to the soap briefly back in September.

Rubbishing all of the claims, an EastEnders spokesperson has said: “As previously stated, Danny is an extremely popular member of cast and respected by everyone on the show.”

Danny is yet to publicly comment on the allegations, but his teenager daughter Dani took her social media account over the weekend to call out newspapers for spreading “lies” about her dad.