Dermot O’Leary

Sean Dermot Fintan O’Leary Jr. is an English television presenter and radio DJ. He currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. He is best known for being the presenter of The X Factor on ITV. In March 2015, he announced he would be leaving the show after eight years. On 29 March 2016, he returned to the show as a presenter, replacing Flack and Murs for the show’s 13th series.

About Dermot O’Leary in brief

Summary Dermot O'LearySean Dermot Fintan O’Leary Jr. is an English television presenter and radio DJ. He currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. He is best known for being the presenter of The X Factor on ITV. In March 2015, he announced he would be leaving the show after eight years. He 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, he returned to the show as a presenter, replacing Flack and Murs for the show’s 13th series. He has also presented Soccer Aid, BRITs Icon: Elton John and The Nightly Show. In November 2020, it was announced that Eamonn and Ruth Langsford had been dropped from their slot on This Morning after nine years. Alison Hammond and Alison Hammond were announced to takeover the slot later that month. They will present the show in January 2021. O’Leary signed a year-long contract with Channel 4 to appear on Hollyoaks. However, this was shortened after a series of disputes with writer Jim Rowe. After seven years on Big Brother, he made his final appearance on 28 January 2008.

He would not return in summer 2008 and he would not appear on Celebrity Big Brother and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. In January 2011, he hosted the Saturday night entertainment show The Marriage Ref on ITV, a celebrity football match in aid of the charity Unicef. In September 2013, he presented the ITV campaign From the Heart, which encouraged viewers to consider organ donation. In 2017, he co-presented the 37th BRIT Awards with Emma Willis. He attended St Benedict’s Catholic College in Colchester, Essex. He holds both British and Irish citizenship. He failed all but two of his GCSEs at school. He eventually studied for a degree in Media Studies with Politics at Middlesex University. 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. He also worked 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.