Dermot O'Leary
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| Dermot O'Leary | |
| Birth name | Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr |
| Born | 24 May 1973 Colchester, England |
Dermot O'Leary (born 24 May, 1973 in Colchester, England) is an irish presenter of radio and television, best known for co-hosting Big Brother and, currently, The X Factor.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early life
He studied for a BA degree in Media and Television, with modules in politics at Jordanstown Polytech, gaining a 2:2. O'Leary also attended St.Benedict's Roman Catholic School in Colchester from which he left with 2 GCSEs,[1] and Colchester Sixth Form College.
[edit] Television presenting
He started as a television runner and moving onto presenting at Channel 4, and was 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. As of 2006, the show became less popular due to the huge success of fellow Big Brother sister show Big Brother's Big Mouth. O'Leary shares the same talent agency as Russell Brand, Davina McCall and Jade Goody - John Noel Management. On the 27 November 2007, it was announced that Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was O'Leary's last series of Big Brother, and that he would not return in summer 2008. After seven years he made his final Big Brother appearance on January 28, 2008. A special 'Best Bits' trail was played, after which, O'Leary looked close to tears.
O'Leary presented the UK version of the game show 1 vs 100—which is also combined with the National Lottery draws every Saturday (as of September 2006). 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. Speaking after the announcement he said: "I was very flattered to be offered the job to host such a hugely successful show. I'm really looking forward to working with Simon Cowell and the team on the kind of Saturday night entertainment show I grew up watching."
[edit] Radio
O'Leary joined London's Indie rock station XFM in 2001 firstly presenting weekday mid-mornings from 10 am–1 pm, before moving to a Saturday evening show in mid 2002, where he remained until he was fired from the station in late 2003, due to poor ratings.
O'Leary joined BBC Radio 2 in September 2004, presenting a Saturday afternoon show entitled Dermot's Saturday Club. Since September 2005, following the arrival of Chris Evans at the station, he has presented a Saturday evening show for Radio 2. The show was originally broadcast from 5:00–7:00 pm, but since November 18, 2006 it has gone out from 4:30–6:30 pm. Due to commitments with TV Show The X Factor, Dermot can now be heard in his original time slot of 2-4pm on Saturdays. The show focuses on new music and live sessions, and has featured live sessions from the likes of Oasis, Supergrass, the Raconteurs, Massive Attack, Kasabian, Guillemots, the Zutons, Beck, the Lemonheads, Lily Allen, the Foo Fighters, The Go! Team, Bloc Party, Ben Kweller, the Magic Numbers, Moby and Kate Nash. O'Leary also hosts Radio 2's Brits and South by Southwest coverage. O'Leary won a Sony Gold Award for the Music Programme Of the year in 2008 [1]
[edit] Personal life
In interviews (including two with the British newspaper, The Guardian), O'Leary has stated that he supports Arsenal F.C. and the Labour Party. He has identified himself as a left-wing socialist.[2]. He is also a practising Roman Catholic, having contributed to the collection of essays Why I am Still Catholic in 2005. During an appearance as a studio guest on Fantasy Football Euro 2004, O'Leary spoke of his support for the Republic of Ireland football team. When in his late teens he played American Football for the Colchester Gladiators.
O'Leary has campaigned on behalf of Make Poverty History, and has visited Sierra Leone with CAFOD accompanied by his own father, Sean O'Leary. He is also a patron of the male cancer awareness campaign, Everyman. In 2003, he played in a charity match for local American football team the Colchester Gladiators as a punt returner, helping to raise £2,500 for the Barnardo's children's fund.[2][3]
He ran the 2005 London Marathon (his third) under four hours for the first time. In this same year he was an usher at the wedding of Holly Willoughby.[4]
He has been dating girlfriend Dee Koppang for five years, and they live together in North London. [3] [4] [5]
He says his funeral song would be "Tonight We Fly" by The Divine Comedy. [6]
In the February issue of Irish society magazine Social and Personal, Dermot was voted the sexiest man in Ireland out of the Top 100.
[edit] Shows hosted
The following is a list of the main shows O'Leary has presented:
[edit] Television
- The Bigger Breakfast
- No Balls Allowed
- T4 (1999-2001)
- The Dogs' Balearics (2000)
- Re:Covered (BBC Choice)
- Big Brother's Little Brother (2001 - 2008)
- Big Brother Africa (2003)
- Teen Big Brother UK (2003)
- SAS: Are you tough enough? (2002)
- Dermot's Sporting Buddies (2002)
- Some Of My Best Friends Are... Catholic (2003)
- SAS Jungle: Are you tough enough? (2003)
- Shattered (2004)
- Big Brother's Little Breakfast (2006) (Morning version of BBLB for Celebrity Big Brother UK)
- Morning Glory (2006)
- Big Brother's Big Brain (2006-2007)
- 1 vs. 100 (2006-2007)
- The X Factor (2007- present)
- Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack (2008)
[edit] Radio
- XFM Weekday Mid-Mornings - (2001-2002)
- XFM The Weekender Saturday Evenings - (2002-2003)
- BBC Radio 2 Dermot's Saturday Club Saturdays 2-4pm (2004-2005)
- BBC Radio 2 The Dermot O'Leary Show Saturdays 5-7pm (2005-2006), Saturdays 4.30-6.30pm (2006-2007), Saturdays 2-4pm (during The X Factor, Nov-Dec 2007) Saturdays 2-5pm (2008- )
[edit] References
- ^ ADAM & JOE ON DERMOT'S SPORTING BUDDIES
- ^ "Team History". Colchester Gladiators American Football Club. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ "Colchester Gladiators - 20th Anniversary Reunion Game". Britball Now (2003-10-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008/02/26/holly-willoughby-exclusive-why-she-loves-wearing-those-revealing-dresses-89520-20332230/
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Kate Thornton |
Host of The X Factor 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
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