Dermot is one of the nation’s best, and most-loved, television and radio presenters. He established himself as a presenter of Big Brother’s Little Brother on Channel 4 before moving on to The X Factor on ITV.
Dermot O’Leary studied at Middlesex University, achieving a degree in Media and Television with Politics. Whilst at Middlesex University he developed an interest in comedy and was involved in various gigs in the students’ union.
He started as a disc jockey at Essex Radio before becoming a runner on the TV show Light Lunch with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. He was then 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.
In March 2009, O’Leary introduced Michael Jackson to an audience of fans at the The O2 in what turned out to be Jackson’s final public appearance before his untimely death.
Dermot O’Leary joined BBC Radio 2 in September 2004, presenting a Saturday afternoon show entitled Dermot’s Saturday Club which ran from 2pm to 4pm. Following a number of changes to the length and timing of O’Leary’s programme, due in part to the arrival of Chris Evans to Radio 2 and his role as presenter of The X Factor, his show has been broadcast between 3pm and 6pm since April 2009.