But in the sleepy villages of Ongar and Debden, a PG-version of the Krays vs Richardsons’ rivalry continues to simmer between a pair of heavyweight celebrity clans vying to be the county’s top dog - the Wrights and the Dyers.
They’re the highest earning showbiz families in Essex thanks to reality shows, podcasts, brand deals and movies, racking up a combined fortune of nearly £30million.
But the competition between the two tribes is made extra spicy for one reason - they absolutely hate each other.
A showbiz source said: “The Dyers and the Wrights will never get on.
“Both families have a real dislike for each other, and the tension is unlikely to ever thaw.
“There’s only a 45-minute drive between them, but even if they lived next door, they certainly wouldn’t be popping round for a cuppa.”
Their bitter feud erupted over a decade ago, when movie hardman Danny, the Dyers’ patriarch, bad-mouthed former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright, the family’s poster boy, during a 2013 interview while noting his utter disgust at once being mistaken for him and mocking his rival’s lofty acting ambitions.
There’s only a 45-minute drive between them, but even if they lived next door, they certainly wouldn’t be popping round for a cuppa.
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Danny, now 47, fumed: “I got mistaken for Mark Wright once. In a café. It put me right off my beans.
“I don’t know him, but he’s everything I hate about this whole celebrity world.
“It’s mainly because of some of his quotes saying he wants to be the next James Bond. If he’s the next James Bond, it’s over for me. It’s the arrogance of it all — it irritates me.”
He added: “Mark’s not up my street. He’ll never be a mate of mine. Good luck to him, just stay away from me.”
Years later, during a charity football match, the fallout turned physical after Mark slapped Danny in a changing room.
The ugly altercation was made public by Mark’s brother Josh, who reacted to Danny having a fresh pop at the ex-Towie star, who is also a DJ on HeartFM and appeared in adverts for a yoghurt brand.
Writing on Twitter, he joked: “My worst nightmare would be listening to Heart FM while eating an Oykos yoghurt. It would be like p***ing razor blades.”
Ex-footballer Josh replied: “You must still be hurting from when Mark gave you a slap in the changing room that day. Get over it you melt.”
Danny then informed his followers that the slap happened at a “charity football match for terminally ill children” and accused Mark, 38, of hiding behind his dad after the slap.
He added: “What a geezer. My bird hits harder.”
Josh replied: “Not sure it happened like that mate you ran your mouth as always and pushed him into corner so he protected himself by slapping you.”
Danny responded: “We all know what happened. He took a bang liberty. End of. He ain’t a bit on me. Crack on.”
Mark only got away with it, Danny said, as “there was kids waiting outside with months to live”.
But animosity between the pair really blew up in the battlegrounds of Chelmsford, at the 2016 V Festival, when the former EastEnders’ favourite was attacked by five of Mark’s pals in front of his daughter Dani, who was just 20 at the time, shocking fellow revellers swigging free booze in the event’s notious Louder Lounge VIP section.
Danny was enjoying his joint stag and hen do ahead of his wedding to wife Jo, 48, and was left with a nasty black eye. Mark was in the toilet at the time.
The fight was allegedly sparked by Dani, who called Mark a “c***”.
A witness said: “I saw a young woman shouting at three men, calling them c***s over and over again.
“She was screaming, ‘Mark Wright is a c***!’.
“Then Danny came round the corner to intervene and I saw him throw a punch at one of them.”
Danny’s onscreen son on EastEnders, Danny “Boy” Hatchard, piled in and started throwing punches, as Dani continued with her verbal attack.
Another eyewitness described the scenes as “complete carnage”.
Speaking about the incident, Jo said: “Danny is not an aggressive person. He wouldn’t have wanted to fight anyone. They’ve ganged up on him.
“There were five guys against one and Danny still went for them. But the most f***ing disgusting thing is it was all in front of my 20-year-old daughter. They’re a bunch of talentless Essex t***s.”
Mark attempted to play down the fight on social media, but Danny hit back: “No. True. Where was ya?? Do you wanna declare who ya snakey 2 Bob mates are??
“Especially the 1 squaring up to my Dani. No daughter should have 2 see their old man being toe-punted in the nut by 5 complete p****s.”
Later, Danny shared a picture of Mark and a group of his friends, with the caption: “Friends eh. How to ruin ya pals career before it had even started. Legends. Other than that I had a proper night. X.”
Since the V Festival bust-up, the pair have managed to avoid any more public spats, perhaps due to their careers taking a more serious turn as well as notching lucrative brand deals that need protecting.
Since leaving Walford in 2022, Danny has established himself as a highly sought-after actor, winning plaudits for his starring role in Disney+ series Rivals, as well as securing a Netflix game show, a Sky comedy and a Channel 5 drama.
Plus, he returned to the big screen this month courtesy of his “geezer rom-com” Marching Powder.
He’s also nurturing a promising TV partnership with Dani, his podcast co-host.
The father and daughter duo’s latest gig is fronting a Sky reality series where they attempt to run a caravan park on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
Meanwhile, Mark continues to work on family-friendly HeartFM and is hoping to bag more TV work alongside brother Josh and dad “Big” Mark on the back of their recent BBC series A Wright Family Holiday.
He’s also aware that his superstar wife and new mum Michelle Keegan, 37, has an image to protect too, she won’t want her husband getting involved in any unsightly fisticuffs.
A source close to the Dyers said: “Danny still had the hump with Mark, and it’s unlikely it will ever go away.
“He thinks he crossed the line when his mates jumped him at V Festival, especially as he was with his wife and daughter at the time. In his world, he thinks that’s unforgivable.
“That may have been a long time ago, but it’s not something he will ever forget. As far as he’s concerned, he’s done with Mark.”
And on the family’s rivalry, the source added: “It’s not lost on the Dyers they’re outdoing the Wrights in terms of media profile right now, even when it comes to reality TV, where they made their name.
“Danny is quietly amused by it.”
The actor continues to have so much disdain for Mark he won’t even contemplate playing in the same football team together.
The only time the die-hard West Ham fan has represented England at Soccer Aid, in 2024 and this June’s match, Three Lions regular Mark has been absent from both squads.
According to sources close to the Wrights, Mark is less fazed by the row than Danny, and would call a “truce” if his rival was willing to make up.
The friend said: “Mark feels the incident was a long time ago and has moved on from it.
“But he won’t make the first move in regards to sealing a truce, that will have to come from Danny.”
That’s not going to happen any time soon.
