1. Dermot O'Leary presented the television talent show The X Factor on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015.
45 Facts About Dermot O'Leary
1. 2.
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.
3.
Dermot O'Leary began his radio career working as a disc jockey at Essex Radio.
4.
Dermot O'Leary joined BBC Radio 2 in 2004 and currently presents the Saturday morning breakfast show and since April 2022 Alternative Sounds of the 90s.
5.
Dermot O'Leary attended primary school in nearby Marks Tey and later joined St Benedict's Catholic College in Colchester.
6.
Dermot O'Leary eventually studied for a degree in Media Studies with Politics at Middlesex University.
7.
Dermot 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 on E4 from 2001 onwards.
8.
Also in 2001, Dermot O'Leary appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.
9.
On 29 March 2007, it was announced that Dermot O'Leary would replace Kate Thornton as the new host of ITV's The X Factor for at least two series.
10.
On 27 March 2015, Dermot O'Leary confirmed that he had quit The X Factor after eight years to pursue other projects.
11.
Dermot 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.
12.
On 29 March 2016, Dermot O'Leary returned to The X Factor as a presenter, replacing Murs and Flack, for the show's 13th series.
13.
From 2010 to 2019, Dermot O'Leary presented the National Television Awards for ITV.
14.
Since 2010, Dermot O'Leary has hosted Soccer Aid on ITV, a celebrity football match in aid of the charity Unicef.
15.
In 2011, Dermot O'Leary hosted the Saturday night entertainment show The Marriage Ref on ITV.
16.
In September 2013, Dermot O'Leary hosted BRITs Icon: Elton John, a one-off music celebration for ITV.
17.
In 2013, Dermot O'Leary presented the ITV campaign From the Heart, which encouraged viewers to consider organ donation.
18.
In January 2014, Dermot O'Leary filled in for Phillip Schofield for a week when he guest presented This Morning opposite Holly Willoughby.
19.
In 2017, Dermot O'Leary co-presented the 37th BRIT Awards with Emma Willis.
20.
In March 2017, Dermot O'Leary guest-presented nine episodes of The Nightly Show on ITV.
21.
Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary were announced to takeover the slot later that month.
22.
In March 2007, Dermot O'Leary signed a year-long contract with Channel 4 to appear on Hollyoaks.
23.
In 2009, Dermot O'Leary presented an episode of The Paul O'Grady Show, standing in for Paul O'Grady.
24.
In March 2014, Dermot O'Leary made a return to Channel 4, where he presented the Live From Space season for three consecutive nights.
25.
Dermot O'Leary was a presenter for Comic Relief in 2005,2011 and 2013.
26.
In May 2009, Dermot O'Leary became the presenter of Matt Lucas and David Walliams's show Rock Profile on BBC.
27.
In March 2010, Dermot O'Leary hosted a spin-off edition of the BBC One show Question Time aimed at first time voters, which aired on BBC Three.
28.
In November 2015, Dermot O'Leary replaced Terry Wogan on Children in Need due to Wogan's cancer-related ill health, from which he died a couple of months later.
29.
In 2016, Dermot O'Leary presented the BBC One Saturday night game show The Getaway Car.
30.
Dermot O'Leary has guest-presented two episodes of The One Show with Alex Jones.
31.
Dermot O'Leary joined London's indie rock station XFM in 2001, firstly presenting weekday mid-mornings from 10am to 1pm, before moving to a Saturday evening show in mid-2002, where he remained until late 2003.
32.
Dermot O'Leary hosted Radio 2's coverage of the BRIT Awards and South by Southwest.
33.
Dermot O'Leary won Sony Gold Awards for Music Programme of the Year in 2008,2010, and 2013.
34.
Since March 2017, Dermot O'Leary has presented the Saturday morning breakfast show on BBC Radio 2 between 8am and 10am, taking over the slot from Brian Matthew and Sounds of the 60s, which moved to an earlier time of 6am with Tony Blackburn as presenter.
35.
In March 2009, Dermot O'Leary introduced Michael Jackson to an audience of fans at The O2 in what turned out to be Jackson's final public appearance before his death.
36.
Dermot O'Leary is one of nine presidents of Better Planet Education and is a patron of the international children's film festival CineMagic, a registered charity for young people based in Belfast.
37.
Dermot O'Leary has campaigned on behalf of Make Poverty History, and visited Sierra Leone with CAFOD accompanied by his father.
38.
Dermot O'Leary is a patron of the male cancer awareness campaign Everyman.
39.
In 2005, Dermot O'Leary ran the London Marathon for the third time, completing it for his first time under four hours.
40.
In March 2014, along with Jeremy Kyle, Bill Bailey, John Prescott, Richard Osman, Rizzle Kicks, Louis Smith, Levi Roots, and Ricky Wilson, Dermot O'Leary went commando for charity to raise awareness of testicular cancer.
41.
For Red Nose Day 2015, Dermot O'Leary participated in a 24-hour dance to raise money for Comic Relief.
42.
Dermot O'Leary married his long-term girlfriend, Dee Koppang, in Chiddingstone in September 2012.
43.
Dermot O'Leary can be heard on the Footballistically Arsenal podcast with his friends and fellow Arsenal fans Dan Baldwin and Boyd Hilton; on the show, it was mentioned that he owns shares in the club.
44.
In 2007, Dermot O'Leary was an usher at the wedding of Holly Willoughby.
45.
Dermot O'Leary co-owned the Fishy Fishy restaurants in Brighton and Poole.