Dermot O’Leary ’s lost out on a chance to go on Who Do You Think You Are? because his family was deemed to be too boring.
The former X Factor host was approached by producers on the BBC One genealogy documentary series who wanted to feature him looking into the history of his relatives.
Dermot was certain the researchers would uncover the interesting escapades of his sea-faring family who all were from the port town of Wexford in Southern Ireland but they came back to him to say that his family’s life was too dull to put on television.
Dermot, 47, said: “They actually researched my family for about three months … They came back and said, ‘There’s just not enough interesting stuff about your family.’
“Bear in mind that Wexford is a port town, and my family are all sea-faring folk and I have it on good authority that two of them went to America and one of them is a police officer and the other was a judge and they both got killed by the Mafia in the 30s. They couldn’t find any record of this.
“I was like, ‘What are you on about?’ We’ve been everywhere, we’re a family of sailors.’ I just don’t think they were trying hard enough. It’s awful isn’t it, absolutely awful.”
Speaking on the Snot, Sweat & Tears podcast, X Factor and This Morning host Dermot said he had changed his lifestyle in lockdown and learned things.
He explained: “It makes you think, ‘Do I need that water that comes from Fiji or can I just filter some tap water?’.
“It’s appreciating the smaller stuff, whether it’s a cup of coffee or a walk in the park. It’s just turning off the phone and making time for yourself.
“Please God we don’t go back to working the way we used to. People don’t want to work like that, they weren’t happy, it makes you die young. It’s easy for me to say as I’ve worked hard and I’ve got enough steaks in the freezer.”
The 47-year-old TV presenter has been married to Dee Koppang O'Leary, 41, since 2012, and the pair welcomed son Kasper together last June.
Asked how he wanted to be remembered he said: “If I can be considered to have been a good friend and a good husband and dad and someone who’s good company with kindness in their soul it’s good.”
