Soccer Aid 2026: Dermot O’Leary’s real name, famous wife and health battle
The ITV presenter is returning to front Soccer Aid as the event celebrates its 20th anniversary
Dermot O'Leary returns to host Soccer Aid this year as the annual celebrity charity match celebrates its 20th anniversary.
The much-loved presenter - who has also fronted shows including This Morning, The X Factor and T4 over the course of his 28-year broadcasting career - has been the lead host of Soccer Aid since 2010. He will be joined by former England and Arsenal star Alex Scott at the London Stadium on Sunday, as celebrities and ex-footballers join forces once again to raise money for UNICEF.
Speaking ahead of this year's event, the UNICEF ambassador said: "I'm just immensely proud that we've got to 20 years with no sense of fatigue setting in. Every year, people are so generous.
"Even though the money often supports work in countries many of us may never visit, people still see the bigger picture — and that’s what matters. So for me, the highlight is simply the pride in seeing Soccer Aid last this long, and knowing that people continue to believe in it year after year."
As O'Leary prepares to pick up the pitchside microphone again, here's everything you need to know about the ITV favourite.
Real name
While O'Leary has become a household name after nearly 30 years on our screens, he goes by a slightly different name to the one he was given at birth.
The presenter was in fact born Seán Dermot Fintan O’Leary Jr in Colchester in 1973, five years after his parents emigrated to Essex from County Wexford in Ireland.
While he doesn't consider himself to be "from Ireland", the 53-year-old admits he still feels a deep connection to his roots.
"I always describe myself as, I'm Irish but not from Ireland, if that makes sense...," he told RTE Radio One. "I've had an Irish passport since I was a kid and I've never had a British passport.
"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."
Famous wife
O'Leary is married to TV and film producer Dee Koppang, with the couple tying the knot in September 2012.
Born in Oslo, Koppang moved to the the UK as a child following the separation of her parents and attended St Lawrence College in Ramsgate.
In recent years, she has worked as part of the team producing Netflix smash hits The Crown and Bridgerton, as well as BBC drama The Split and Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals.
Koppang and O'Leary met in 2002, with the presenter proposing in 2011 before they married at Chiddingstone Castle in Kent the following year, with James Corden and Chris O'Dowd among the famous faces in attendance.
The couple live in Primrose Hill in north London and share one child - Kasper - who was born in June 2020.
Health battle
In April last year, O'Leary revealed on This Morning that he had been suffering from a "massively painful" health condition, namely tertemporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
The condition affects the jaw joint and surrounding muscles, and can cause restricted jaw movement and clicking sounds, as well as severe pain which can extend to the face, neck and shoulders.
While he initially ignored the pain, O'Leary later sought medical help and he was referred to 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.
"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]."