dermot o'leary
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Dermot O’Leary’s family rejected by Who Do You Think You Are?

The presenter has links to the Mafia

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Dermot O’Leary has revealed his family were snubbed from Who Do You Think You Are?

The 47-year-old This Morning star was approached by BBC producers in the hope of featuring his family on the programme.

But, after three months of digging into Dermot’s past, they decided to pass on the offer.

Dermot O'Leary on This morning
Dermot O’Leary was rejected from Who Do You Think You Are? (Credit: ITV)

What did Dermot O’Leary say?

Speaking on the Snot, Sweat & Tears motherhood podcast, Dermot 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.'”

I just don’t think they were trying hard enough

Furthermore, the presenter went on to discuss his family background.

In addition, he added: “Wexford is a port town, and my family are all seafaring folk. I have it on good authority that two of them went to America.

The presenter has links to the Mafia (Credit: SplashNews.com)

“One of them was 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.”

Dermot concluded: “I just don’t think they were trying hard enough. It’s awful isn’t it? Absolutely awful.”

Read more: This Morning: Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond criticised for laughing during phobia call

The BBC One documentary series has featured a range of familiar faces.

As well as Jodie Whittaker, comedy stars Ruth Jones and David Walliams have also opened up on their family history.

Ruth Jones on Who DO You THink You Are
Ruth Jones previously featured on the show (Credit: BBC)

Dermot on This Morning

Meanwhile, Dermot currently appears on This Morning every Friday with co-host Alison Hammond.

Since joining the show as main presenters this year, viewer figures have increased.

According to The Mirror, the pair are pulling in an average of 1.3 million viewers every Friday morning.

Read more: This Morning: Holly Willoughby ‘really sad’ over Prince Philip’s lack of privacy while leaving hospital

However, just last week, Alison revealed she is yet to “bond” with Dermot properly.

It came after the pair interviewed choreographer Lizzie Gee and her son Rufus, who went viral in lockdown with their tap dancing videos.

During the chat, Alison joked: “I am actually speechless at how good at tap dancing you are, because I actually did tap dancing when I was a kid. It’s just a really nice thing to do isn’t it, to bond? And I feel like me and Dermot, we still need to bond.”

Alison & Dermot React to Dramatic Parish Council Meeting | This Morning

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor