Soccer Aid 2025: Dermot O'Leary's real name, famous wife and painful health admission

Soccer Aid 2025: Dermot O'Leary's real name, famous wife and painful health admission
The This Morning presenter will front coverage of Soccer Aid 2025 from Old Trafford on Sunday
Dermot O'Leary has presented Soccer Aid since 2010.
(Image: (Photo by Dave) )
Dermot O'Leary will front the coverage of Soccer Aid for the 15th year in a row.
The iconic British TV presenter has been a staple on our screens for the last two decades, and was the face of X-Factor between 2007 until it's final season in 2018, with a break in 2015. O'Leary was therefore on board for the ignition of pop star group One Direction in 2010, as well as Little Mix one year later. Alongside X-Factor, he has co-presented on This Morning, as well as fronting a weekend morning show for BBC Radio Two.
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UNICEF's Soccer Aid has been a constant throughout his career, and the 52-year-old is an ambassador for the humanitarian aid organisation.
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Speaking about the upcoming event, O'Leary touched on it's importance, which is especially apparent as a parent. "Soccer Aid for UNICEF is an incredibly special event – and means a great deal to me personally as a UNICEF UK Ambassador, host and producer, but even more so as a parent," he explained.
"The game this year is on Father's Day, so it takes on even more significance. Buying a ticket for this year's star-studded match will help UNICEF give children everywhere a chance to grow up happy, healthy and with hope for the brightest future possible. I know it's going to be an absolutely fantastic night at Old Trafford."
Soccer Aid kicks off at 7.30pm UK time on Sunday, June 15 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
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Dermot O'Leary's real name
Something that may surprise many readers is that O'Leary doesn't use his full name.
However, the Colchester-born presenter does include parts of it. Legally, he is Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr, although he tends not to use that in every day life.
The name comes from Ireland, with his parents emigrating to Essex, England, back in 1968, and O'Leary being born five years later.
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Although he doesn't class himself as being 'from Ireland', he says that he is still connected to his roots.
"I always describe myself as, I'm Irish but not from Ireland, if that makes sense...," explained O'Leary to RTE Radio One.
"I've had an Irish passport since I was a kid and I've never had a British passport. And I don't hold that as, like, a badge of honour or anything, it's just something that happened. They never forced that [Irish] identity down our throats, it just felt very natural for us."
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Famous wife
O'Leary is married to TV and film producer Dee Koppang O'Leary.
Koppang was born in Oslo, Norway, but moved to the UK as a child following the separation of her parents. She attended St Lawrence College in Ramsgate in the 1990s.
She is a renowned producer, working as part of the team that produced Netflix smash hits The Crown and Bridgerton, as well as BBC drama The Split.
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O'Leary and Koppang met in 2002, with O'Leary proposing in 2011 and marrying her a year later at Chiddingstone Castle. James Corden, Chris O'Dowd and Bear Grylls were some of the celebrities in attendance.
The couple have one child together - Kasper - who was born in June 2020. They reside in Primrose Hill in north London and also have two rescue cats - Toto and Socks.
Health battle
Presenter O'Leary has spoken openly about his struggles with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
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The condition affects the jaw joint and surrounding muscles, and can cause pain, restricted jaw movement and clicking/popping sounds.
This pain can extend to face, neck or shoulders, and can significantly impact day-to-day activities. In April, O'Leary revealed on This Morning that he had been experiencing "massively painful" TMJ issues, causing him pain every time he ate.
He first ignored the pain, before sourcing a physiotherapist. "I woke up last half term in October, out of nowhere and every time I opened my mouth to eat something, I got a massive pain around here," he explained.
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"I ignored it for a bit because I'm a man and then finally got it… went to go and see an ear, nose and throat specialist, and he sent me to you (physiotherapist Krina Panchal)."

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