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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Ryan Paton

ITV Soccer Aid Dermot O'Leary's real name, This Morning defence and life with TV wife

Dermot O'Leary will return to our screens tonight for the annual Soccer Aid game.

The star-studded England vs Rest of The World match will feature a combination of legendary footballers and celebrities hoping to raise thousands of pounds for Unicef. The match is being broadcast live on ITV and will take place at Old Trafford stadium.

The charity game has been a huge success ever since the first edition was set up by Robbie Williams back in 2006. I'm A Celebrity winner Jill Scott will captain England as they aim to bounce back from last year's penalty defeat.

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Dermot will not be lacing up his boots tonight as he will once again be in the hosting seat. The presenter has fronted the coverage ever since he took over from Ant & Dec in 2010.

It has been a busy few weeks for Dermot as he stood in to front This Morning throughout a difficult period for the show. ITV's flagship daytime programme was rocked with controversy as former host, Phillip Schofield, quit ITV after he admitted having an affair with a younger male colleague .

Dermot presents episodes of the show broadcast on Friday alongside Alison Hammond. The two were drafted in to replace Holly Willoughby and her former co-host as the show dominated headlines for the wrong reasons.

However, Dermot issued a staunch defence against reports from people previously associated with This Morning that it is a toxic place to work. On the episode broadcast on May 29, he said: "We happen to be in the news at the moment and of course we appreciate that, but just from both of us and the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you."

After Mr Schofield's tell all interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Dermot once again addressed the subject on air as he said: "It's difficult to cover this story as a friend and a colleague." The broadcaster also pointed to the importance of letting the external review ordered by ITV to be carried out.

On what must have been a difficult few weeks, Dermot may be relieved to be fronting a show away the This Morning studio this evening. Away from his TV career, the former X Factor presenter is happily married to his wife Dee Koppang. Dermot's wife has forged a successful career as a TV director and has worked on shows such as Bridgerton, The Crown and The Split.

The two welcomed their first child, Kasper, in 2020 and Demot admitted he had been changed by becoming a dad. He told Mirror Online in 2021: "All the cliches are true. I mean like the love you feel and all of that. It's wonderful, it is the best feeling in the world.."

Although the presenter is renowned as Dermot O'Leary his real name is actually Sean Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. The dad of one stunned fans last month when he marked a special birthday as he turned 50

Taking to the comments section on Instagram, Jo said: "I can’t believe Derms is 50", while Sammy said: "I can't believe he's 50. Looks more like 40". Danielle said: "Bloody hell! You look amazing for 50".

Michela said: "50!?? No way!" and Kirstine said: "You don't look a day over 40".

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