It’s been seven years since Dani Dyer won Love Island as Essex’s girl-next-door - and at 29, she’s already winning at life. The reality star married West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen last year, has three kids under five and will be competing on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in January. But with her 30th birthday just months away, Dani is ready to enter a new era.

“I feel like I’m really finding myself again. I’ve had five years obviously with all the kids and now they’re growing up a little bit,” smiles Dani, who shares Santi, four, with ex Sammy Kimmence and two-year-old twins, Summer and Star, with Jarrod.

“You start finding yourself a little bit again - what you like and what you don’t like. I’m finding my feet. In this industry, you have your ups and downs but I feel at the moment that I’m really enjoying everything I’m doing and appreciating it all.”

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Dani is fresh from hosting family for Christmas at her Essex home with husband Jarrod - who was at home this year after playing for West Ham last Boxing Day in Southampton. “I’m really lucky because he’s at home this year, which is lovely because last year he was in a hotel on Christmas night. It just takes the fun away, doesn’t it?

“I’m really happy that he’s home this year so we could watch Christmas movies together. Jarrod loves Christmas.”

With the festive period coming to an end, Dani admits that she’s stronger than ever thanks to her stint on Celebrity SAS. The star is being put through her paces by ex Special Forces staff in South Africa with cricketer Graeme Swann, Love Island’s Gabby Allen and rugby player Ben Cohen this series.

“I knew it was going to be hard and I didn’t go in there thinking, ‘It’s just a TV thing,’ but it was just as hard, if not harder,” she says.

“You just never switch off, whether you’re back in your dorms or out on a challenge. You’re constantly second guessing and never knowing what’s next. It was brutal - but I really enjoyed it.”

Dani admits that both Jarrod and famous dad Danny thought she was “nuts” for doing it. “I’ve always been petrified watching it but I never get to push myself out of my comfort zone,” she says. “In the job I do, I get so many amazing opportunities and when this came around, I thought, ‘When am I ever going to be able to test myself?’

“My dad thought I was absolutely nuts because he’s not a fitness person at all. When he does Soccer Aid, he has a fag just before he goes on the pitch. He was really proud of me but we went, ‘I’d never do that. I don’t know how you’re my child!’”

While it proved to be a gruelling experience, Dani learnt that she’s “a lot stronger” than she thought. “I do find things hard in life. I beat myself up a lot and put a lot of pressure on myself,” she admits.

“In there, you can do anything life throws at you. With the Directing Staff, they scream and shout at you but they want to get the best out of you.”

In fact, being interrogated by the intimidating instructors ultimately helped her to cope with her insecurity around not being liked. “They wanted to know what my weaknesses were and make me deal with them. With the job that I do, it comes with a lot of s**t thrown at you and people saying you’re talentless. You get a lot of that.

“I stick up for myself a bit more now. I’ve always worried what everyone thought of me. If someone didn’t like me in school, I hated it and thought, ‘What have I done wrong? What can I do to prove myself?’ But the Directing Staff tell you that the people in your life are the ones that matter.”

Being away from her three young kids was tough for Dani, but they were cheering her on from Jarrod’s hometown in Herefordshire.

“I was so lucky with the support they all gave me just before I went in there,” she says. “They were so proud of me. Jared was in his off-season so he had the kids and they went up to Leominster, where his family lives.

“They were all really rooting for me. ‘Come on, Dan, you can do this. You might miss us, but we’re always going to be there.’ I always had that in my head and that really helped me.”

With press commitments, brand deals and TV shows to film, Dani admits that planning and childcare support are key for juggling three kids and a career. “I plan my months really well. I time everything when my mum is around and when Jared’s there,” she explains.

“The twins are at nursey, Santi is at full-time school now - I had to put him in breakfast club yesterday and he had no idea what it was. He said, ‘what do I do?’ I said, ‘You just go in and eat some breakfast, Santi.’

“It’s just having the right people around you to help. Some weeks are really full on and other weeks are less so, which is great because I can do all the things I love - taking my girls to ballet, picking them up from school, doing the dinners. Organisation is key. It is exhausting but I really love the job I do so I make it work.”

Would she like more kids in the future? “You can never say never,” she smiles. “At the moment, I’m not looking to have any more children as of yet.

“My children are so small and I just want to enjoy them - they’re so cheeky all of them but they are lovely. I’m thirty next year so I’m still relatively young but you don’t know what could happen. Currently, it’s a big no.”

As for 2026, Dani has filmed a new show with dad Danny, Danny Dyer’s Caravan Park, and a new collection with Peacocks - but she is hoping to return to Strictly Come Dancing. The star was set to dance with Nikita Kuzmin in this year’s series but was forced to pull out after fracturing her ankle after the launch show.

“My foot still isn’t one hundred percent but it’s a lot better than it was,” Dani admits. “Before, I couldn’t even touch it without feeling sick whereas now, it moves a lot. It’s just about strengthening it.

“It’s up to Strictly because I would absolutely love to do it again,” she grins. “I didn’t even really get to start my journey this year so I think what’s meant to be will be.”

In the meantime, Dani has her 30th birthday celebrations to plan - and she wants to go big. “I want a party. I’d like to go away. My holidays are always so last minute depending on Jarrod and his football but I’d love to go to Ibiza,” she reveals.

“I did it for my hen and it’s the best place on Earth. I want to be waited on, I want to be in bed, I want a tray brought up with croissants, some grapes, a nice fruit platter from M&S. We’re talking big.”

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins airs on Sunday 4 January at 9pm on Channel 4.