Dermot O'Leary facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dermot O'Leary
O'Leary at Waterstones, London in 2024
Born	Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary (1973-05-24) 24 May 1973 (age 52) Colchester, Essex, England
Citizenship	Ireland
Occupation	Broadcaster
Years active	1998–present
Employer	ITV BBC
Spouse(s)	Dee Koppang ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	1

Dermot O'Leary, born on May 24, 1973, is a well-known British-Irish TV and radio presenter. You might know him best as the host of the popular TV talent show The X Factor on ITV. He hosted it from 2007 until its last series in 2018, taking a short break in 2015.

Since 2021, Dermot has also been a presenter on ITV's morning show, This Morning. He usually presents on Fridays, during school holidays, and on bank holidays with Alison Hammond. His role expanded in 2023, and he now presents more often.

Dermot started his career as a disc jockey at a local radio station called Essex Radio. He later worked for the indie rock station XFM in London from 2001 to 2003. In 2004, he joined BBC Radio 2, where he still hosts a popular Saturday morning show.

Dermot O'Leary's Early Life and Education

Dermot O'Leary was born in Colchester, Essex, England, on May 24, 1973. His parents, Maria and Seán, are from Ireland, which is why Dermot has both British and Irish citizenship.

He went to primary school in a nearby town called Marks Tey. Later, he attended St Benedict's Catholic College in Colchester. Dermot admits he was quite relaxed about schoolwork and didn't pass many of his first exams. However, he re-took his qualifications and then went on to Colchester Sixth Form College.

After college, he studied Media Studies with Politics at Middlesex University. When he was younger, Dermot was part of The Boys' Brigade, a Christian youth group. He also played American football for local teams, the Colchester Gladiators and the Ipswich Cardinals, when he was a teenager.

Dermot O'Leary's Career Journey

Dermot O'Leary has had a long and varied career in television and radio.

Starting Out in TV and Radio

Dermot began his career as a disc jockey at BBC Essex radio station. He then worked behind the scenes as a runner for a TV show called Light Lunch.

He became a presenter for Channel 4 on their youth show T4. After that, he moved on to host Big Brother's Little Brother on E4 starting in 2001. This was the show that went along with the main Big Brother series. In 2004, Dermot also hosted a TV show called Shattered.

Working with ITV

Dermot became the host of The X Factor on ITV in 2007. He hosted the show for eight years, becoming a very familiar face to millions of viewers. In 2015, he decided to leave the show to try other things.

However, he returned to The X Factor in 2016 and continued to host it until the show ended in 2018.

Dermot has also hosted many other big shows for ITV:

• From 2010 to 2019, he presented the National Television Awards, which celebrate the best of British TV.
• Since 2010, he has hosted Soccer Aid, a celebrity football match that raises money for the charity Unicef.
• In 2011, he hosted The Marriage Ref.
• In 2013, he hosted a special music celebration called BRITs Icon: Elton John.
• He also presented an ITV campaign called From the Heart in 2013, encouraging people to think about organ donation.
• In 2014, he filled in as a guest presenter on This Morning.
• In 2017, he co-presented the BRIT Awards with Emma Willis.
• In November 2020, it was announced that Dermot and Alison Hammond would become the new Friday presenters for This Morning, starting in January 2021.

Work with Channel 4

Dermot's last series hosting Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was in 2007. He made his final Big Brother appearance in January 2008, after seven years with the show.

In March 2014, Dermot returned to Channel 4 to present the Live From Space season, which aired for three nights.

Presenting for the BBC

Dermot has been a presenter for major charity events like Comic Relief in 2005, 2011, and 2013. He also presented Sport Relief in 2012.

In 2006, he hosted the game show 1 vs. 100 on BBC One. In 2009, he presented Rock Profile with comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams.

In 2010, Dermot hosted a special edition of Question Time for first-time voters. He also had a series called Dermot Meets... where he interviewed important political figures.

In November 2015, Dermot stepped in to present Children in Need due to Terry Wogan's illness. In 2016, he presented the game show The Getaway Car on BBC One and also guest-presented two episodes of The One Show.

Dermot's Radio Career

Dermot O'Leary joined London's indie rock station XFM in 2001. He first hosted weekday morning shows and then moved to a Saturday evening show called The Weekender until late 2003.

In September 2004, Dermot joined BBC Radio 2. He started with a Saturday afternoon show called Dermot's Saturday Club. Over the years, the time of his show changed, but it always focused on new music and featured live performances. He won Sony Gold Awards for Music Programme of the Year in 2008, 2010, and 2013 for his radio work.

Since March 2017, Dermot has presented the Saturday morning breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, from 8 AM to 10 AM. The show is called Saturday Breakfast with Dermot. He also sometimes fills in for Zoe Ball on her Radio 2 breakfast show when she is on holiday.

Other Projects and Work

In March 2009, Dermot introduced Michael Jackson to fans at The O2 arena. This turned out to be Jackson's last public appearance before he passed away.

Dermot has also done voice-overs for TV advertisements, including for Amazon Prime. In 2017, he wrote a children's book called Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape. He released another children's book, Wings of Glory, in 2024.

Dermot O'Leary's Charity Work

Dermot O'Leary is involved in many charity activities:

• He is one of the presidents of Better Planet Education.
• He is a supporter of CineMagic, an international children's film festival in Belfast.
• He has supported the Make Poverty History campaign and visited Sierra Leone with CAFOD to see their work.
• He is also a patron for the Everyman campaign, which raises awareness about male cancers.
• In 2003, he played in a charity American football match for the Colchester Gladiators, helping to raise money for the Barnardo's children's fund.
• In 2005, Dermot ran the London Marathon for the third time, finishing it in under four hours for the first time.
• For Red Nose Day 2015, Dermot took part in a 24-hour dance challenge to raise money for Comic Relief.

Dermot O'Leary's Personal Life

Dermot O'Leary married his long-time girlfriend, Dee Koppang, in September 2012. Dee is of Norwegian background. They have one son named Kasper, who was born in June 2020.

Dermot is a fan of football and supports Arsenal F.C. and Celtic F.C.. He also supports London Irish RFC in rugby and Wexford GAA in Gaelic games. He has mentioned his support for the Republic of Ireland national football and rugby teams. He is a practising Roman Catholic.

Television Appearances

Radio Shows