Eastenders actor Danny Dyer showed off his famous cheeky chappie persona after playing auctioneer at a charity fundraiser.
The 40-year-old, who plays Mick Carter in the BBC One soap, bantered with an audience of 500 at Live At The Roundhouse events hall, Dagenham, on Saturday as part of a fundraising night for Hornchurch tot Isla Caton, of Benets Road, who has neuroblastoma.
Danny proved his prowess as an entertainer as he encouraged attendees to win a backstage tour with him, supported by colleagues Dean Gaffney (Robbie Jackson), Harry Reid (Ben Michell) and Jamie Borthwick (Jay Brown).
In the comical video, Danny says of the money can’t buy prize: “We don’t do ‘em, you can’t buy ‘em. We don’t do that Coronation Street b******s”.
Later on he jokes: “On my life, meet ‘em, all. I’ll roll Dot out, the lot,” to huge laughter from the room.
Danny kindly agreed to offer two tours after different bidders made individual donations of £1,500.
Speaking to the Recorder, he said: “With Isla, it is a terrible, terrible thing and you can help out and use fame for a positive thing.”
The three-year-old has had the rare form of children’s cancer since March.
Although it is treatable, the survival rate is low in cases where it returns.
Isla’s parents, Nicola Caton and Michael Hook, are trying to raise £192,000 for specialist treatment called immunotherapy in the US, which could potentially prevent the neuroblastoma returning once in remission.
Stratford resident Sharon Borthwick – also Jamie’s mum - organised the night as she is a friend of Nicola’s.
She said: “We’ve raised £22,396 so far. It went absolutely spot on. I have had people say to me over the weekend, ‘You could feel the love in the room’.”
Nicola added: “It has been absolutely amazing. We do not have enough words of how grateful we are to people who have come along and donated.”
The family still need to raise a further £120,000. Fundraisers will next hold a Grand Ball on February 17 at Orsett Hall, Essex.
To find out more, visit Isla Caton’s Fight Against Neuroblastoma on Facebook.
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