Dermot O'Leary
| Dermot O'Leary | |
|---|---|
O'Leary in 2014
|
|
| Born |
Sean Dermot Fintan O'Leary, Jr 24 May 1973 Colchester, Essex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Television presenter, DJ, Comedian |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Television | |
| Spouse(s) | Dee Koppang (m. 2012) |
Sean Dermot Fintan O'Leary, Jr. (born 24 May 1973), better known as Dermot O'Leary, is a British television presenter for ITV and a radio presenter for BBC Radio 2.
O'Leary's radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of The X Factor on ITV, a position he held since 2007 with the exception of 2015, when he stepped down to pursue other ventures. He was replaced by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack. He later returned as the host in 2016.
O'Leary was born in Colchester, north Essex, England to parents Seán and Maria, who had moved to the United Kingdom from Ireland. He is "extremely proud" of his Irish roots and holds dual British and Irish citizenship. O'Leary attended primary school in Marks Tey and later St Benedict's Catholic College in Colchester. He admits that his relaxed attitude at school caused him to fail all but two of his GCSEs. Following that, O'Leary re-took his school leaving qualifications, allowing 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, O'Leary was a member of The Boys' Brigade.
O'Leary started as a disc jockey at Essex Radio 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, 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.
...
Wikipedia