THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DERMOT O'LEARY: DERMOT O'LEARY

THIS IS HOW IT ALL BEGAN:

On the 28th April 2009, I started a blog for actor Russell Tovey called "Russell Tovey - A Star In The Making" which consisted of news and Twitter updates, keeping Russell's fans abreast of the latest happenings in his life. The blog closed at the start of 2012 when he left the cast of the TV show "Being Human" and moved onto other work in films and TV.

I started another blog on the 26th April 2011 called "Charlie Condou Confidential" for Charlie Condou the UK actor currently starring as Marcus Dent in Coronation Street. The reason I started his blog was because Charlie used to follow Russell Tovey on Twitter and I always enjoyed Charlie's tweets and his sense of humour. Charlie was, and still is, heavily involved in supporting the Gay Community and school education programs such as Anti-bullying, Human Sexuality and charities such as the Terrence Higgins Trust. Charlie is a lovely bloke and will have my support for years to come.

As of the 1st December 2012, I have started a new blog for Dermot O'Leary called "The Life & Times of Dermot O'Leary." In the course of running my previous blog for Charlie Condou, Dermot O'Leary followed me on Twitter and has done so for nearly 2 years.

Boy George [singer], and presenter Dermot O"Leary followed me roughly at the same time as did Charlie Condou and others from UK showbiz and media.....

I have always enjoyed reading Dermot's tweets and finding out about his work. I saw him on TV a while back when I was last in the UK conducting family history research and have kept up with his career ever since.

We sometimes see Dermot on UK shows which are shown here in Australia (where I live). I personally like his open and warm manner and admire the way he quietly supports various charities. I like him for being as open and honest as you can be whilst still in the scrutiny of the media.

And besides all of that, Dermot has good hugs!

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
DERMOT O'LEARY

Born: 24-05-1973: Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary, Jr.

Birth Place: Colchester, Essex

Starting out as a DJ on a regional radio station, the UK presenter has risen to the top of the game, becoming the nation's favourite front-man on programmes such as 'Big Brother's Little Brother' and 'The X-Factor'. Dermot O'Leary was born and raised in Colchester, Essex, where he discovered a love for media and began supporting various charitable causes. Attending St Benedict's Catholic College, he then went on to Colchester Sixth Form College.

While not overly academically gifted, he did pick up a 2:2 degree from Middlesex University in Media and Television with Politics, which he has subsequently put to extremely good use.

O'Leary also spent his younger years supporting various charitable causes, such as CAFOD, the Catholic Overseas Development Agency. In an interview with the charity's Just One World Blog in 2011, he spoke of the profound effect that the Ethiopian famine of 1984/85 had on him. "There was Live Aid coming up and CAFOD was appealing in the school at the same time. I just remember feeling terribly guilty when I saw the CAFOD posters in the school corridors showing what was happening in Ethiopia," he said. "For a safe suburban lower middle class white boy, it was quite a striking thing to look at, and it made me start thinking about what was happening out there, but also what we could do to help."

Dermot also embarked on a life-long love of sport during his younger years. A passionate supporter of Arsenal FC, the presenter also has personal affections for Celtic FC in Scotland and London Irish RFC. As well as a keen love of football and rugby, he also played American football in his late teens, for local club Colchester Gladiators.

O'Leary's first career break came when he landed a job at Essex Radio as a DJ, which led to an opportunity as a show runner on Channel 4's ‘Light Lunch’, featuring Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.

From there, he moved into presenting at Channel 4, on shows such as ‘No Balls Allowed’, ‘Inside Rugby’ and ‘The Bigger Breakfast’. His big break came when he was selected as part of the original presenting team for Channel 4's iconic ‘T4’, the prime-time weekend scheduling slot aimed at teenagers, along with Fran Lee and Omar Gurnah.

Some of the luminaries who have started out on T4 include Vernon Kay, Simon Amstell, Alex Zane, Alexa Chung and Miquita Oliver.

In the early Noughties, he could also be seen on Channel 4's ‘The Barfly Sessions’, ‘RE:COVERED’ on BBC Three and ‘Dermot's Sporting Buddies’ on BBC Choice in 2002. From 2001 until 2008, Dermot was also the main presenter of ‘Big Brother's Little Brother’ (BBLB), the popular magazine programme that accompanied ‘Big Brother’ on Channel 4 and E4.

The programme allowed for another look at the goings-on inside and out of the Big Brother household, from the start of Big Brother 2. The show thrust Dermot O'Leary into the fore, picking up a national audience off the back of the huge success of Big Brother, helping the Irish presenter to become a household name for UK audiences.

In 2007, O'Leary took another step forward, after it was announced he would be replacing Kate Thornton as host of ‘The X-Factor’. He was now being watched by millions in the prime-time Saturday evening slot. To show just how popular it has become, series six attracted a peak television audience of 19.7 million UK viewers, a 63.2 per cent of the audience share.

Away from television, O'Leary has continued to work in radio, presenting first for London's indie station XFM and now BBC Radio 2, from 2004 until present. The DJ's show features new and live music and has featured sessions from some of the biggest contemporary musicians and bands, including Oasis, Massive Attack, Foo Fighters, Bloc Party and Moby. In 2008 and 2010, he won a Sony Gold Award for Music Programme of the Year.

TELEVISION SHOWS HOSTED:

§ The Big Breakfast

§ T4 (1999–2001)

§ The Dogs' Balearics (2000)

§ Re:covered

§ Big Brother's Little Brother (2001–2008)

§ Big Brother Africa (2003)

§ Big Brother Around the World (2008)

§ Teen Big Brother: The Experiment (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)

§ Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2008 - Guest Team Captain, 2009 - Guest Host)

§ The Paul O'Grady Show (2009) (Guest Presenter)

§ The National Television Awards 2009 (2010) (Host)

§ First Time Voters' Question Time, BBC Three, (2010)

§ Dermot Meets...(David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Danny Mulhern and Nick Clegg), BBC Three (2010)

§ Soccer Aid (2010) (Host)

§ Big Brother's Last Supper (2010) (Host)

§ The National Television Awards 2010-present (Host)

§ Red Nose Day (2011) (Co-host)

§ Live from the Royal Wedding (2011) (Host)

§ The Marriage Ref (2011) (Host)

RADIO SHOWS HOSTED:

§ 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 (2008–2009), Saturdays 3-6pm (2009-)

DERMOT’S PERSONAL LIFE:

O'Leary supports Arsenal F.C., Celtic F.C., London Irish RUFC and politically the Labour Party and he has identified himself as a socialist.

He can be heard on the 'Footballistically Arsenal' podcast with his friends and fellow Arsenal fans Dan Baldwin and Boyd Hilton, and on this show it was mentioned that he owns shares in the club. He supports Wexford GAA in Gaelic Games, attending matches in the past. 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 O'Leary was in his late teens, he played American football for his local team, the Colchester Gladiators. In his early years, he was good friends with Lord Gimpett, with whom he lived In London.

He ran the 2005 London Marathon (his third) under four hours for the first time.

In 2007 he was an usher at the wedding of Holly Willoughby.

He is also a practising Roman Catholic, having contributed to the collection of essays Why I am Still Catholic in 2005. In the February 2008 issue of the Irish magazine, Social and Personal, O'Leary was voted the sexiest man in Ireland out of the Top 100.

O'Leary has campaigned on behalf of Make Poverty History, and has visited Sierra Leone with CAFOD accompanied by his father. He is also a patron of the male cancer awareness campaign, Everyman.

In 2003, he played in a charity match for the Colchester Gladiators as a punt returner, helping to raise £2,500 for the Barnardo's children's fund.

On 19 November 2011 during an episode of Xtra Factor, it was announced that O'Leary was engaged to his long-term girlfriend Dee Koppang. He married Dee at St Mary's Church, Chiddingstone in Kent, UK on 14 September 2012 arriving at the church in a cream coloured Mercedes-Benz Pagoda.

He co-owns the FishyFishy restaurants in Brighton and Poole.

O'Leary says his funeral song would be "Tonight We Fly" by the Divine Comedy. But he's not planning on dying just yet.

SEALED WITH A KISS!

Dermot O'Leary gives bride Dee a smooch as pair wed after 10 years together

They got engaged in New York last November after 10 years together. And today (Friday 14 Sep 2012) Dermot O'Leary, 39, and long-term girlfriend Dee Koppang tied the knot at an intimate wedding in a Kent village. After the ceremony, Mr and Mrs O'Leary marked their union by kissing outside St Mary's Church in Chiddingstone, where the pair had been worshipping for the past six months.