X Factor’s O’Leary longs to host politics programme
DERMOT O’Leary says he fears that his role as presenter of The X Factor might prevent him from landing more serious television jobs.
The 41-year-old, raised in London by Irish parents, said his biggest ambition would be to host a hard-hitting political or current affairs programme.
But the broadcaster, who also presents a show on BBC Radio 2 and has previously hosted a Big Brother spin-off programme, said people might struggle to accept him outside the light entertainment genre.
He said: ‘I hate the fact that entertainment is considered “not weighty”. It’s a brilliant format and in may ways it’s subversive.
‘I’m interested in politics and can come up with a million and one political ideas, but whether a commissioning editor buys into an entertainment presenter making them is an entirely different matter.’
However, O’Leary said he counted himself extremely lucky to have landed one of the best jobs on TV – and said he kept himself motivated by his memories of unemployment.
In an interview with The Catholic Universe, he said: ‘I honestly never expected to be on television. I wanted it, but it seemed so remote and also, I wanted to be on television for something rather than just being on telly.
‘I think fear’s a wonderful motivator. I’m conscious not to paint myself as a working class hero, but it’s not like I have anything to fall back on. First time on live television is a pretty massive thing, and you only get one chance.
‘The thing is, if someone had told me I’d be doing The X Factor the year before I got the gig [in 2007], I would have thought they were crazy. I learned a long time ago that you can have goals, but you’ve got to live in the reality that those goals might get chucked out of the window at any minute.’
Speaking of the sparks between the four judges, the presenter said: ‘There’s far more ego on air than there is off air.
‘Off air, everyone gets on really well. It feels far more of a team ethos than you’d think. Mel B and Cheryl get on like a house on fire. The area of conflict is Simon and Cheryl, Cheryl and Louis, Mel B and everyone. Louis is the dirtiest judge in the world. He nicks songs and leaks stories. He’s really sharp.’