Dermot O'Leary

O'Leary began his radio career working as a disc jockey at Essex Radio. From 2001 to 2003, he was a presenter for London's indie rock station XFM. O'Leary joined BBC Radio 2 in 2004 and currently presents the Saturday morning breakfast show and since April 2022 Alternative Sounds of the 90's.

Dermot O'Leary studied at Middlesex University, St Benedict's Catholic College and Colchester Sixth Form College. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is television broadcasting, radio broadcasting and literature. Employment is recorded with British Broadcasting Corporation, ITV plc and Syco Entertainment.

• Name — Dermot O'Leary • Birth Name — Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary • Born — 24 May 1973 • Birthplace — Colchester, Essex, England • Citizenship — Ireland, United Kingdom • Occupation — Broadcaster • Years Active — 1998–present • Employer — * ITV (2007–present) • BBC (2004–present) • Channel 4 (2001–2008, 2014) • XFM (2001–2004) • Children — 1

Seán Dermot O'Leary was born on 24 May 1973 in Colchester, Essex, the son of Irish parents Maria and Seán, both from County Wexford. He spent many of his childhood summers in County Wexford and has always had an Irish passport. He grew up in Marks Tey, Essex, where he attended primary school, and later joined St Benedict's Catholic College in Colchester. His complacent attitude at school caused him to fail all but two of his GCSEs. Following that, O'Leary re-took his school-leaving qualifications. This allowed him to later start his A-Level courses at Colchester Sixth Form College. He eventually studied for a degree in Media Studies with Politics at Middlesex University. Growing up, he was a member of The Boys' Brigade Christian youth organisation. When he was in his late teens, he played American football for the Colchester Gladiators and the Ipswich Cardinals, where he wore the number 32.

O'Leary started as a disc jockey at BBC Essex, before becoming a runner on the TV show Light Lunch with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, and then a presenter at Channel 4 as part of the original presenting line-up of the channel's T4 strand. He moved on to present Big Brother's Little Brother (the companion show to Big Brother) on E4 from 2001 onwards. Also in 2001, O'Leary appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. In 2004, O'Leary hosted the reality television series Shattered.

On 29 March 2007, it was announced that O'Leary would replace Kate Thornton as the new host of ITV's The X Factor for at least two series. On 27 March 2015, O'Leary confirmed that he had quit The X Factor after eight years to pursue other projects. Via his Twitter account, he said: Good afternoon. After eight wonderful years on The X Factor it's time for me to move on. I'd like to thank ITV, Simon, The X Factor family and particularly the viewers, all of whom have been a big part of my life for so long. I'd like to wish the team all the best for the future, especially whoever takes over from me. O'Leary was replaced by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, who previously co-hosted The Xtra Factor, the behind-the-scenes companion programme, together in 2011 and 2012. On 29 March 2016, O'Leary returned to The X Factor as a presenter, replacing Murs and Flack, for the show's 13th series. In a statement, he said: "I'm very flattered to be asked back to The X Factor, and am currently dusting off my dancing shoes. There is nothing more exciting than hosting live TV on a Saturday night. The show is naturally very close to my heart, after having hosted it for 8 years. I’m really looking forward to it, and excited to be back." From 2010 to 2019, O'Leary presented the National Television Awards for ITV. Since 2010, O'Leary has hosted Soccer Aid on ITV, a celebrity football match in aid of the charity Unicef. In 2011, O'Leary hosted the Saturday night entertainment show The Marriage Ref on ITV. In September 2013, O'Leary hosted BRITs Icon: Elton John, a one-off music celebration for ITV. In 2013, O'Leary presented the ITV campaign From the Heart, which encouraged viewers to consider organ donation. In January 2014, O'Leary filled in for Phillip Schofield for a week when he guest presented This Morning opposite Holly Willoughby. In 2017, O'Leary co-presented the 37th BRIT Awards with Emma Willis. In March 2017, O'Leary guest-presented nine episodes of The Nightly Show on ITV. • Illustration — O'Leary in 2023 In November 2020, it was announced that Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford had been dropped from their Friday slot on This Morning after 14 years. Alison Hammond and O'Leary were announced to take over the slot later that month. They presented their first show in January 2021.

On 27 November 2007, it was announced that Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was to be O'Leary's last series of Big Brother. After seven years, he made his final Big Brother appearance on 28 January 2008. In 2009, O'Leary presented an episode of The Paul O'Grady Show, standing in for Paul O'Grady. In March 2014, O'Leary made a return to Channel 4, where he presented the Live From Space season for three consecutive nights.

O'Leary was a presenter for Comic Relief in 2005, 2011 and 2013. He also presented Sport Relief in 2012. In August 2006, O'Leary signed a deal to present the game show 1 vs. 100, which aired on Saturday nights on BBC One in combination with The National Lottery Draws. In May 2009, O'Leary became the presenter of Matt Lucas and David Walliams's show Rock Profile on BBC. In March 2010, O'Leary hosted a spin-off edition of the BBC One show Question Time aimed at first time voters, which aired on BBC Three. He also presented Dermot Meets..., a series which saw him interview the likes of David Cameron, Gordon Brown, and Nick Clegg. In November 2015, O'Leary replaced Terry Wogan on Children in Need due to Wogan's cancer-related ill health, from which he died a couple of months later. In 2016, O'Leary presented the BBC One Saturday night game show The Getaway Car. The series was filmed in November 2015 and began airing in January 2016. He has also guest-presented two episodes of The One Show with Alex Jones.

O'Leary joined London's indie rock station XFM in 2001, firstly presenting weekday mid-mornings from 10am to 1pm, before moving to a Saturday evening show in mid-2002, where he remained until late 2003. O'Leary joined BBC Radio 2 in September 2004, presenting a Saturday afternoon show titled Dermot's Saturday Club, which ran from 2pm to 4pm. Following a number of changes to the length and timing of O'Leary's programme, due in part to the arrival of Chris Evans to Radio 2 and his role as presenter of The X Factor, his show was broadcast between 3pm and 6pm from April 2009 until its end on 21 January 2017. It focused on new music and had featured live sessions. O'Leary also hosted Radio 2's coverage of the BRIT Awards and South by Southwest. He won Sony Gold Awards for Music Programme of the Year in 2008, 2010, and 2013. Since March 2017, O'Leary has presented the Saturday morning breakfast show on BBC Radio 2 between 8am and 10am, taking over the slot from Brian Matthew and Sounds of the 60s, which moved to an earlier time of 6am with Tony Blackburn as presenter. Since April 2022 he has presented the weekly show Alternative Sounds of the 90s with Dermot O'Leary.

In March 2009, O'Leary introduced Michael Jackson to an audience of fans at The O2 in what turned out to be Jackson's final public appearance before his death. In 2015, he was named one of GQ's 50 Best Dressed Men in Britain. He has voiced television advertisements for Amazon Prime. In 2017, he released a children's book called Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape. In 2024, he released another children's book called Wings of Glory.

O'Leary opened The Rodillian Academy in 2001. He is one of nine presidents of Better Planet Education and is a patron of the international children's film festival CineMagic, a registered charity for young people based in Belfast. He has campaigned on behalf of Make Poverty History, and visited Sierra Leone with CAFOD accompanied by his father. He is also a patron of the male cancer awareness campaign Everyman. In 2003, he played in a charity match for the Colchester Gladiators as a punt returner, helping to raise £2,500 for the Barnardo's children's fund. In 2005, O'Leary ran the London Marathon for the third time, completing it for his first time under four hours. In March 2014, along with Jeremy Kyle, Bill Bailey, John Prescott, Richard Osman, Rizzle Kicks, Louis Smith, Levi Roots, and Ricky Wilson, O'Leary went commando for charity to raise awareness of testicular cancer. The promo was released on 24 February 2014. For Red Nose Day 2015, O'Leary participated in a 24-hour dance to raise money for Comic Relief.

O'Leary married his long-term girlfriend, Dee Koppang, in Chiddingstone in September 2012. They have one son, Kasper, who was born in June 2020. In a 2003 interview, O'Leary praised the Socialist Workers Party but quipped that they would "take all of [his] money", so he instead supported the Labour Party. He supports Arsenal F.C., Celtic F.C. London Irish RFC and the Miami Dolphins. He can be heard on the Footballistically Arsenal podcast with his friends and fellow Arsenal fans Dan Baldwin and Boyd Hilton; on the show, it was mentioned that he owns shares in the club. He supports Wexford GAA in Gaelic games. During a studio guest appearance on Fantasy Football Euro 2004, he spoke of his support for the Republic of Ireland national football team and the national rugby union team. In 2007, O'Leary was an usher at the wedding of Holly Willoughby. He is a practising Roman Catholic. In an interview with Peter Stanford of the Daily Telegraph in February 2008, he "cheerfully" admitted using contraception while living with his future wife: "I do get it in the neck from some Catholics who say I am a buffet Catholic, picking and choosing the bits I like or don't like." O'Leary co-owned the Fishy Fishy restaurants in Brighton and Poole. The Poole restaurant closed in 2013, and the Brighton restaurant closed in 2016.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1998–2001 — T4 — Presenter • 1999 — The Dog's Balearics • 2000 — The Barfly Sessions • 2000, 2008, 2009 — Never Mind the Buzzcocks — Guest Team Captain / Guest Presenter — 3 episodes • 2001–2008 — Big Brother's Little Brother — Presenter • 2002 — Top of the Pops — 2 episodes • 2002–2003 — Re:covered • 2002–2004 — SAS: Are You Tough Enough? — 3 series • 2003 — Teen Big Brother: The Experiment • 2004 — Shattered — 7 episodes • 2005, 2011–2013 — Comic Relief — Co-presenter — Annually; 3 episodes • 2006 — Morning Glory — Presenter • 2006–2007 — 1 vs. 100 — 2 series • 2007–2014, 2016–2018 — The X Factor — 11 series • 2008 — Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack • 2009 — Rock Profile — Series 3 • 2010 — Question Time: First Time Voters — One-off episode • Dermot Meets... — 1 series • A League of Their Own — Guest Team Captain — 2 episodes • 2010–present — Soccer Aid — Co-presenter — Annually; 7 episodes with Kirsty Gallacher • 2010–2019 — The National Television Awards — Presenter — 10 ceremonies • 2011 — Live from the Royal Wedding — One-off episode • The Marriage Ref — 1 series • 2012 — Sport Relief — Co–presenter — 1 episode, with Davina McCall • 2013 — From the Heart — Presenter — One-off episode • BRITs Icon: Elton John • 2014 — Live From Space — Presenter — 3 episodes • 2014, 2020 — This Morning — Stand–in Co–presenter — 9 episodes • 2015 — Children in Need — Co-presenter — Main role, with Tess Daly and Fearne Cotton • 2016 — The Getaway Car — Presenter — 1 series • The One Show — Guest Presenter — 2 episodes • 2017 — BRIT Awards — Co-presenter — 37th event with Emma Willis • The Nightly Show — Guest Presenter — 9 episodes • 2018 — The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — Commentator — 2 episodes • Reel Stories: Kylie Minogue — Host — BBC Two programme • 2019 — Icons: The Greatest Person of the 20th Century — Category Presenter ("Advocate") — 2 episodes • Small Fortune — Presenter — 1 series • The X Factor: Celebrity • The X Factor: The Band • 2020 — One World: Together at Home — Co–presenter — One-off special • Goodwood SpeedWeek — Presenter • 2021 — British Academy Film Awards — Co–presenter — With Edith Bowman • The Pet Show — With Joanna Page • An Audience with Arsène Wenger and David Dein — Presenter — One-off special • 48 Hours to Victory — Co-presenter — Three-part Channel 4 series • Reel Stories: Sting — Presenter — BBC Two programme • 2021–present — This Morning — Co-presenter — Fridays; with Alison Hammond • 2022 — Reel Stories: Robbie Williams — Presenter — BBC Two programme • 2023 — Inside No. 9 — Himself — 1 episode; “Paraskevidekatriaphobia” • The Chase for Soccer Aid — Contestant — Soccer Aid celebrity special • Reel Stories: Noel Gallagher — Host — BBC Two programme • Remarkable Places to Eat — Himself — Guest; one episode • 2024 — Saving Lives at Sea in World War II — Presenter • The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer — Contestant • Reel Stories: Jon Bon Jovi — Host — BBC Two programme • Reel Stories: Shania Twain — Host — BBC Two programme • 2024, 2026 — Dermot O'Leary's Taste of Ireland — Presenter — Food and travel series; two series aired • 2025 — Silence is Golden — Host — Comedy game show • The Masked Singer — Mistletoe — Christmas Special • 2025, 2026 — NFL Big Game Night — Host — With Sam Quek and Osi Umenyiora • 2026 — Reel Stories: Rick Astley — Host — BBC Two programme

• Year — Network — Slot — Notes • 20012002 — XFM — Weekday mornings • 20022003 — Saturday evenings — Show called The Weekender • 20042005 — BBC Radio 2 — Saturdays 24pm — Show called Dermot's Saturday Club • 20052006 — Saturdays 57pm • 20062007 — Saturdays 4:306:30pm — 2pm4pm (during The X Factor months) • 20082009 — Saturdays 25pm • 20092017 — Saturdays 36pm • 2017 — Saturdays 810am — Show called Saturday Breakfast with Dermot

Dermot O'Leary was born on 24 May 1973 in Colchester. O'Leary held the nationality of Ireland. O'Leary was educated at Middlesex University, St Benedict's Catholic College and Colchester Sixth Form College. O'Leary worked as radio personality, television presenter, writer and presenter, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them children's writer. O'Leary was active from 1998. O'Leary was employed by British Broadcasting Corporation, ITV plc and Syco Entertainment. O'Leary worked in English.