Dermot O’Leary has revealed how he was dropped from BBC ancestry series Who Do You Think You Are?
The telly presenter was set to appear on the show but was ultimately told by producers that his family were ‘too boring’.
He shared how the Who Do You Think You Are? team spent months researching his heritage before revealing it would not feature in the series.
Dermot explained: “They actually researched my family for about three months… They came back and said, ‘There’s just not enough interesting stuff about your family.’”
Speaking to the Snot, Sweat & Tears podcast (via the Mirror), he went on: “Bear in mind that Wexford is a port town, and my family are all sea-faring folk and I have it on good authority that two of them went to America and one of them is 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.’ I just don’t think they were trying hard enough. It’s awful isn’t it, absolutely awful.”
You can currently watch episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? online now via the BBC iPlayer.
The latest batch of episodes featured Doctor Who actor Jodie Whittaker, Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams, actor Ruth Jones and Silent Witness actor Liz Carr.
Other celebrities featured over the years have included presenter Mark Wright, X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, comedian Paul Merton, comedian Katherine Ryan and Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet.
