Dermot O'Leary

Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster.

Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary was born on 24 May 1973 in Colchester, Essex, the son of Irish parents Maria and Seán; he has had Irish citizenship since birth.

He attended primary school in nearby Marks Tey 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.

From 2001 to 2003, he was a presenter for London's indie rock station XFM.

O'Leary started as a disc jockey at BBC Essex, based in Southend-on-Sea, 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, before moving 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.

O'Leary joined BBC Radio 2 in 2004 and currently presents the Saturday morning breakfast show.

In 2004, Dermot hosted the TV show Shattered.

He presented the television talent show The X Factor on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015.

Since 2021, O'Leary has presented ITV's This Morning on Fridays, school holidays and bank holidays alongside Alison Hammond, a role expanded to the remainder of the week on a rotation with the departures of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby in the summer and autumn of 2023.

O'Leary began his radio career working as a disc jockey at Essex Radio.

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 November 2007, it was announced that Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was to be O'Leary's last series of Big Brother, and that he would not return in summer 2008.

In March 2007, O'Leary signed a year-long contract with Channel 4 to appear on Hollyoaks.

However, this was shortened after a series of disputes on set.

Jim Rowe, a series writer at the time, said, "He couldn't follow even the simplest commands. It goes to show how vastly different presenting is to acting".

After seven years, he made his final Big Brother appearance on 28 January 2008.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.'"

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.

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 takeover the slot later that month.

They presented their first show in January 2021.