As well as Davina’s, a new interview with Dermot has been released, read on for the full manuscript.
The Dermot O’Leary who appears on TV is friendly, sociable, funny and cheerful. Away from the cameras, Dermot O’Leary is an interviewer’s nightmare. It turns out he’s so friendly, sociable, funny and cheerful, that he can’t help but spend the day chatting to anyone and everyone, spreading his own brand of cheeky-chappy bonhomie wherever he goes. Today, at a Big Brother photo shoot in North London, it means that actually getting him to sit down and do an interview is virtually impossible. He’s permanently off getting the stylist a drink, introducing himself to the assembled crew, or talking football with the photographer’s assistant.
As a result, it’s impossible not to like O’Leary. What you see is most assuredly what you get. It is this natural charm that has seen O’Leary’s stock rise year after year since he first appeared on T4 over a decade ago. It also explains how Big Brother’s Little Brother has become appointment-to-view TV for the show’s millions of fans.
Big Brother’s almost back with us. Do you feel like it seems to come round really quickly?
Yeah in a good way, because I absolutely love it. I’ve got a really busy summer coming up, but I’m just really looking forward to it. And I feel quite relaxed doing BBLB now, which doesn’t mean I work any less hard, but there’s a great team working on it, and we all know what we’re doing now, so I’m just really looking forward to it. And I’m looking forward to it getting its sense of humour back, and having a bit of fun.
How would you describe Big Brother’s Little Brother?
It’s essentially your every day catch-up with what’s going on in the house, with a slightly sideways glance at stuff. It’s a show for Big Brother fans to revel in, and often they seem to know more than we do. It is what it says on the tin, it is Big Brother’s Little Brother, so we love Big Brother, but at the same time, we’re not averse to kicking Big Brother in the shins and running away. Like any little brother, we can be very mischievous.
How do you keep the show fresh, after so many programmes? Will you change anything this year?
I’m not sure. The tricky thing is, you want to try and keep it fresh, of course. Already we’ve got a fair few items in development which should be really good fun. I think the key, for me, is that it’s all about the minutiae of people’s lives and what they do in the house. There’s always stuff there we can play with. So the different characters in the house help us keep things fresh.
Who has been your favourite contestant in Big Brother over the seven series?
I always liked the way Shell Jubin carried herself, but that was probably because she was really attractive. But she was lovely. I liked Science and Derek a great deal, and in terms of watching a journey, I think Glyn was an incredible contestant last year. I just want people to be good value, and he was.
Do you ever find that you dislike some of the Big Brother contestants? If so, does that mark the way you interview them?
I can normally empathise with them. The problem is, by the time I get them, if they haven’t behaved particularly well, they’ve been vilified. So by the time they get to me, it’s like shooting a wounded puppy - you don’t really have the heart to do it. But there have been a couple who I’ve been quite keen to put difficult questions to. I find that easier as time goes on, actually.
Do you think there will ever, in the history of TV programmes, be a worse guest on a show than Alicia Duvall [once a guest of Dermot on BBLB?
Oh I want her back on. She was extraordinary. There’s a great moment in that, which I think you can spot on the TV, when I stop caring. I started off trying to make an effort, and about two minutes in I just thought, ‘Alright love, I’ll give you enough rope to hang yourself, off you go.’ But they’re the moments you live for in a weird, weird way.
The booker was so apologetic after that, but I said ‘Look, people are going to be talking about that in a couple of years’ time.’ And they still are. You should always try and book someone like that. She was incredible. I want her back.
If you had one wish for Big Brother this summer, what would it be?
I want it to get its sense of humour back. I don’t think it deliberately left but I want to see people in boxes again. I want to see those wonderful tasks. Of course, you want to see tension every now and again, but I don’t want it to start a worldwide political debate. And I want to see people who are there for the experience. I think the motivating factor for people going in there is now less about fame and more about the experience. The majority of people who go in there now want to feel validated somehow. They want to prove something to people.
I’d never realised that your real name is Sean, Dermot’s a middle name. Why don’t you call yourself Sean?
You know what it’s like, Irish parents, they’re insane. There’s some sort of tradition that if the son is called after the father, then you don’t use his first name, you use his middle name. So I’ve never been called Sean in my life. It’s weird though, to the point that now my passport says Dermot. Just because the girls in the Irish embassy, when I went in to pick it up, said ‘Alright Dermot? We’re doing your passport now. ‘ And so they’d just automatically put Dermot on it.
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