Dani Behr presented some of the UK’s biggest TV shows in the 1990s and is infamously known for dating Ryan Giggs more than three decades ago – but her life is very different now
The Word: Dani Behr welcomes MN8 to the show
Dani Behr was once one of the UK’s hottest stars, becoming one of the most recognised women in Britain thanks to her roles presenting hit TV shows. She was also an original WAG, dating Ryan Giggs back in 1994 – a staggering three decades ago. But they split after struggling to make a long-distance relationship work, with Dani saying of then-Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson: “I lived in London and Ryan was in Manchester and he didn’t like his team travelling a long way so that was difficult. He controlled Ryan. I got so much attention then, I was never out of the papers. I guess we were the first showbiz-footballer couple so there was a huge interest in us.”
Dani made her name on chat shows including scandalous late-night magazine show The Word – which she joined at just 17 – and Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast. Then, In the early noughties, she was chosen to present the BBC’s new children’s programme The Saturday Show, but was unfortunately dropped when her comments about having a voice that was great for phone sex, made to a men’s magazine, were deemed ‘inappropriate’ for a kids’ TV presenter.
Now, the 54 year old is living a more subdued life in Los Angeles, and has a very different career away from the spotlight, which her dad, Michael, once referred to as a ‘proper job’.
In 2015, the former magazine cover star and mum of two passed her exams and began working as a real estate agent, specialising in the luxury market and introducing clients to some of the USA’s most lavish properties.
Following in her estate agent dad’s footsteps, she reflected on her career change, saying: “I was once hanging out with the most famous people in the world, dating sportsmen and socialising with the trendiest bands. Now I sell houses to them, it’s funny how things work out. I was never comfortable with the fame thing, it was never anything I really wanted and plus, my father’s delighted. He says he is so happy that finally I have got a proper job. He doesn’t have to worry about what he is going to read about me any more”.
Fans on X, formerly Twitter, were shocked to discover her new role, with one person saying: “Dani Behr is an estate agent? You all knew? Real life Selling Sunset? Am obsessed,” Another fan commented: “I saw Dani Behr on a US property show as a real estate agent! ! !” A third fan said: “I didn’t know Dani Behr works in Real Estate now. (Watching channel 4.)”
At the time, Dani also shared that she needed to provide for her two kids, Coco, then nine, and Zayn, who was eight, and revealed the pressures of the industry: “As you get older, it is harder to find a job in television especially in the US. The work dries up, and very quickly. She continued, stressing the importance of financial stability: “I’m a single mum now so I need regular money coming in, money I can rely on, just as any mother would need.” Dani split from her husband, restauranteur Carl Harwin, in 2014 saying they had little in common.
But Dani has not shied away from TV work. She is well-known for her attempted comeback appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2008, where she shared the screen with Dollar frontman David Van Day, children’s TV legend Timmy Mallett and winner, EastEnders’ Joe Swash. Sadly, she was sent home on day 12.
She also appeared on Come Dine With Me in 2009, alongside EastEnders’ Laila Morse, singer Dane Bowers and comedian Bobby Davro, but came last. More recently, she has appeared on Lorraine Kelly’s daytime TV show, providing updates on celebrity news from LA, standing in for Ross King.
Dani started her career in pop music, graduating from the Sylvia Young Theatre school before being discovered by the Pet Shop Boys’ manager Tom Watkins, who put her into a girl band dubbed the female Bros, called Faith Hope & Charity. After that, she moved on to BBC children’s TV show Grange Hill, before things skyrocketed with The Word.