Dermot O'Leary says he will not be appearing on Who Do You Think You Are? because researchers said his family was too boring.
The Essex man who has presented the X Factor for years said he was approached by producers on the BBC One genealogy documentary series who wanted to feature his story.
Yet the Colchester celebrity says he was left stunned when they returned after three months of investigation and said they were no longer interested, the Mirror Online reports.
Dermot had been certain they would unearth details about his sea-faring family who all were from the port town of Wexford in Ireland.
The 47-year-old 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.”
Meanwhile, speaking on the Snot, Sweat & Tears podcast, the This Morning host said he had changed his lifestyle in lockdown and learned things.
He said: “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 since 2012. 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.”
