“I like being around other peasants like me!” …Danny and Danny Dyer’s battle to save Britain’s cruise holidays | television

“You wouldn’t see Olivia Colman doing that shit, would you?” Danny Dyer jokes as he cleans a bin at Priory Hill and Knotts Farm Holiday Park in Kent.

But over the past year – while filming the return of hit Disney+ series Rivals – the actor and his daughter Dani have been spending weekends on the Isle of Sheppey, filming The Dyers’ Caravan Park (Sky One) in a bid to boost the fortunes of Priory Hill and make caravanning cool.

As Danny says:[Jeremy] Clarkson has a farm, Richard Hammond has a workshop… If Jamie Oliver can save school dinners, why can’t we save the great British holiday?

The pair have been suitably involved – from cleaning caravans, to dressing up in a bear costume to entertain the children, to solving a poo problem in the park’s indoor pool.

Danny says he wanted to do the show because he loved his childhood holidays with his large family at a caravan park on Canvey Island. “There was a real sense of community, which I think is sorely missing in today’s world,” he says. “It was the best time of my life, running around to get a little sea air in my lungs. These places are on the verge of extinction.”

Dyer does not own Priory Hill (it has been owned by the Butcher family since 1951) but has invested in it; Betting not only on his money but on his reputation. Sitting in the Priory Hill club with Danny, he says: “We live in a very divisive time, it’s very difficult, and…no one really interacts with each other anymore.” [due to] Social media.

“I think the children are at the caravan site [are] Just playing, laughing on the bikes…fresh air in their damn lungs. [It’s] Something beautiful to behold… Can we bring it back? Can we make our kids go out all day, so they feel naturally tired instead of running their minds all day? Can we make this exciting again?”

Older generations love caravanning, but “it’s about trying to get the next generation involved… It’s very easy to go abroad, and probably cheaper,” says Danny, sporting the mustache he grew for Rivals’ Freddie Jones.

He admits that there is a fair degree of arrogance to overcome: some of the people he spoke to “just don’t understand.” [the appeal]; They turn their noses up at him a little. I think elitism comes from a very working class holiday… so if you have a few pounds, you probably wouldn’t buy a caravan.

However, Danny explains that new luxury cars have all the modern conveniences and are “very warm” but are expensive. One on the seafront cost more than £50,000 (with a boutique hotel-style interior) but the painters sold it by creating a fun video on social media.

Ben Weeks, creative director of entertainment at Expect, said the couple wanted to make sure “everyone is having the time of their lives when they’re in the park” and that Danny has “a real social conscience. He worries about things that everyone else doesn’t worry about.”

The pair are happy to send themselves out and admit mistakes: one marketing initiative, which included a giant billboard next to the Sheppey Bridge, backfired and they were targeted with graffiti.

Danny was keen to include Dani in the series because she had more youthful ideas (she had successfully introduced glamping to the location) and was able to rein in his more extravagant plans.

Attending a residents’ meeting to discuss improvements led to a sports day, complete with a mobile motorbike – the ‘Grandma Prize’. It was a huge success, but cost around £10,000.

The show is made by Exhibition TV, the company behind Clarkson Ranch, and there are similarities – particularly the idea that its fish-out-of-water celebrity stars are guided by knowledgeable local workers and discerning residents.

But Leysdown-on-Sea is less affluent than the Cotswolds, and more open to the TV tourism that Sky could bring. As Jamie Butcher, co-owner of Priory Hill, explains: “The buzz in Leesdown is truly unbelievable.”

When I visited the island, the locals were friendly but there was evidence that some were struggling. One business posted a sign saying: “Currently closed due to problems.” But the town and Priory Hill & Nutts Farm have stunning views across the bay to Whitstable – that beacon of how a once-rickety town can be rejuvenated by tourism.

The duo hope the show will help revitalize a “very deprived” area that has “real magic”. Although, says Danny, their other goal is not to “tread on” the owners’ toes, but to “put a lot of smiles on people’s faces” – from viewers to the residents and managers of Priory Hill.

However, Priory Hill has been severely impacted by Covid and the cost of living; When the Dyers became involved, the company had 38 empty pitches, causing a loss of £150,000 in potential revenue annually.

Co-owners Alex and Jamie lost their father Michael (who previously ran the park) seven years ago and say “it hasn’t been the same” since, but the Dyers have “got some energy back”.

This included star appearances by EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson and Harry Redknapp, who helped in a football tournament organized by the Dyers to bring the site’s residents together.

With his famous appearances on ITV’s The Assembly and Rivals, Danny’s career is experiencing a renaissance. “We don’t know how [the show] “It will be received,” he says, but he and his daughter feel a responsibility to the residents and try to use their fame wisely — even if his public persona doesn’t always open doors.

“I’m from a working class background. Maybe people have a perception about me [Dani]”If they don’t really like you, it’s a matter of trying to win them over.”

He says he is “getting better” at dealing with fame and remembers to be “true with himself”, not “lose”. [who] Damn you. Being famous…it’s so toxic. I like being in that kind of surroundings, I really like it, around other peasants like me! He’s joking.

But not everything he works on is realistic. He has been writing a play about his friendship with his late mentor Harold Pinter, called When Harry Met Danny. “And I would love to play Harold,” he says.