The 30-year-old is returning to Strictly Come Dancing after she was forced to pull out of the competition in 2025
Dani Dyer will be returning to the Strictly dancefloor(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/BBC Studios)
The glitz and glamour of the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor is back again. Among the stars stepping into the spotlight this year is Dani Dyer, who is making her long-awaited return to the BBC favourite after a horror injury brought an end to her Strictly dreams last year.
The 30-year-old was forced to pull out of the competition in 2025 after fracturing her ankle while rehearsing with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
Dani had been preparing to take to the dancefloor when the injury struck, with medical advice given to her that continuing could risk making the fracture worse. She was replaced in the competition by fellow Love Island alumni Amber Davies, who went on to make it to the final four alongside Nikita.
Now Dani is back and ready to finally get her chance to show viewers what she can do on the dancefloor.
While fans may know her best for her reality television career, there is a lot to Dani’s story – from her famous father and her Love Island success to her lavish wedding to England footballer Jarrod Bowen and life as a mum-of-three.
Many will recognise Dani from the fourth series of ITV’s hit dating show Love Island, which she won in 2018 alongside Jack Fincham. Her surname, however, was already well known to television viewers.
Dani is the daughter of EastEnders legend Danny Dyer, who has enjoyed a long career playing Mick Carter in the BBC soap. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter
Despite growing up with a famous father, Dani has gone on to establish a name for herself, appearing across television and entertainment projects.
She teamed up with her dad to co-present MTV’s True Love or True Lies, before the pair later launched their own podcast, Live and Let Dyers. On top of that, Dani has appeared on other reality shows including Gogglebox and Celebrity Masterchef.
But away from the cameras, Dani’s personal life has also undergone some major changes in recent years. She married West Ham and England footballer Jarrod Bowen in 2025, with the couple reportedly opting for a more intimate celebration despite their high-profile status.
According to reports in The Mirror, their wedding took place at the Langley Hotel in Buckinghamshire, where rooms have reportedly cost around £500 a night. The stunning celebrations were said to have taken inspiration from a Netflix hit, Bridgerton, with violins providing music during the day.
And despite both Dani and Jarrod having large fanbases, the couple reportedly kept their guest list small, with just 50 people invited to their big day.
The couple married two years after announcing the birth of their twins Summer and Star, who arrived in May 2023. Dani is also mum to her eldest child, Santiago, affectionately known as Santi, whom she shares with her former partner Sammy Kimmence.
During a candid conversation with entrepreneur and former Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing on his Great Company podcast, Dani discussed the feelings of guilt she has experienced, particularly when it comes to her son, BristolLive reports.
Speaking about Sammy Kimmence, she said: “I would say we’re very civil and I will always be really civil to him because that’s Santi’s dad.
“There’s going to be times, with Santi in school plays and his birthdays, and I would never want Santi to feel uncomfortable.”
Dani added: “Like Santi’s never going to know his mum and dad being together, which I, kind of, I actually prefer that more because he’s never going to know what he’s missing in that sense.
“Because you always feel guilty, always, because when Jarrod walks through the door and the twins are like ‘daddy daddy’, I feel that Santi, does he feel, does he feel that that’s not his daddy? I always have those feelings. Santi calls Jarrod JJ.”
Beyond family life, Dani is looking to take on her next challenge by returning to Strictly – and emulating the success of Jamie Lang, who also sustained an injury in his first season and made an epic return to the programme – coming in the final four.
Interestingly, however, this is not the first time an injury had interrupted one of her reality television appearances, with Dani admitting she is “clearly accident prone”.
Back in 2018, Dani took part in Survival of the Fittest, another ITV reality show, but was forced to leave after dislocating her shoulder during the opening challenge.
Speaking on her podcast with dad, Danny, she joked about the possibility of another injury occurring, worrying that “things coming in threes”.
“I dislocated my shoulder on Survival of the Fittest, and that was meant to happen,” she said.
Her father Danny interjected, saying: “This has happened for a reason, but we just don’t know what the f*****g reason is yet.
“The reason you injured yourself on Survival of the Fittest was because they pulled you out of that show and put you on Love Island.
“They never would have put you on Love Island if your collarbone hadn’t popped on that slide.
“It popped, they took you out, and they gave you Love Island, and you won it. There was a f*****g reason.
“If you hadn’t popped your collarbone, you wouldn’t have done that show. If you’d stayed in with a sling on, you would never have won it.”
Dani added: “I couldn’t have done it physically, so everything happened as it should have.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns to iPlayer and BBC One from 7.25pm on Saturday, September 19, airing every weekend until Christmas.
