Danny Dyer Confesses 'Nicking' His Famous Ghost Story From His Uncle

Actor and television presenter Danny Dyer has revealed that one of his most famous anecdotes isn't actually his own, saying, "We all tell little lies to get through the day."

Speaking on his new podcast with his daughter Dani Dyer, 'Live And Let Dyers,' Danny admits he borrowed a famous tale about encountering a ghostly monk while tagging trains at Stratford station in London during the 1990s - a story he once told on ITV's 'The Jonathan Ross Show' a decade ago. You can see that original clip below...

Danny confesses, "I've got a confession to make, and I've been dining out on someone else's story. My uncle Gary, who I love very much, he was the one that saw the ghost - not me."

Danny explains that he previously shared the story in his book, 'The World According to Danny Dyer: Life Lessons from the East End.' "In that book, I talk about my uncle's experience as a graffiti artist. It was three o'clock in the morning at Stratford station, spraying trains. It was naughty, but that's what people did back then," he says.

In his candid retelling, Danny describes the incident. "They jumped over this big wall in the middle of the night, doing something illegal, so they were scared. Then, as they were walking, they saw someone coming towards them - a monk." Dani, surprised, responds, "So you weren't there? I always thought you were there!"

Danny goes on to explain why he took the story as his own. "I wasn't there. I was with him when he came home and told me the story, and he didn't even want to talk about it. I remember being fascinated and thought, 'I'm going to nick that story,' because I think we all do that in life."

Reflecting on this, Danny suggests that adding small untruths is something people do to get by. "We all tell little lies every day. We do it to get through, to make others feel better about themselves."

Listen to the full episode of 'Live And Let Dyers' on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.