EastEnders' Danny Dyer and Shona McGarty back Danny Hatchard after spat with Michael Greco

Former EastEnders stars Danny Dyer and Shona McGarty have weighed in on Danny Hatchard's spat with Michael Greco. A clip of Hatchard's character in the soap, Lee Carter, was shared to X, which prompted Greco to comment: "The art of playing drunk is to try and be as sober as you can. This is everything that is wrong."

Hatchard, who recently reprised his role in the BBC soap as part of his sister Nancy Carter's baby storyline, shared a lengthy rebuttal on his Instagram page, calling Greco's post "disappointing and classless".

Greco, who played Beppe di Marco from 1998 to 2002 in the soap, has since apologised, but that hasn't stopped several fans and former actors on the show from sharing their opinions.

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In the comments, Mick Carter actor Dyer and Whitney Dean star McGarty have both shared their support for Hatchard.

McGarty, whose character was in a relationship with Lee on the show, wrote: "You are fantastic!! Always have been! I can’t believe that comment, coming from someone who was in the show too, and would probs love to be back…"

Dyer, who starred as Lee's dad, added: "F*** him Dan. You’re a proper actor. We keep moving."

Sharing the X post, Hatchard wrote in the caption: "Disappointing and classless behaviour from a man I once respected.

"Having been in this business for over 15 years, I’ve developed a pretty thick skin. I’ve also learned that for every hater, there are a hundred people showing love and support. Those are the people I choose to focus my energy on.

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"But scrolling past someone I once respected jumping on a hateful bandwagon to publicly criticise a fellow actor’s work, based on a nine second clip shared by a troll on X, completely stripped of context, is a level of disrespect I genuinely struggle to understand."

He continued: "We work in an industry where we should be supporting one another, not tearing each other down for a few likes. I’m just grateful I’m no longer in my early twenties, because back then, something like this would have absolutely destroyed my confidence.

"Anyway, onwards. More fuel in the tank, more lessons learned and more motivation to keep growing. Remember to be kind, folks. Even if you are Beppe."

In response, Greco said: "I apologise for my comment. Was no need for it. Should’ve been the bigger man and seen the bigger picture. I haven't watched Eastenders for many years so I don’t even know who you were or what I was commenting on. No need for it."

EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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