Dermot O’Leary told his family was too dull for Who Do You Think You Are? despite 1930s ‘Mafia killings’

Three months of research failed to turn up enough ‘interesting’ material for an appearance

Dermot O’Leary has claimed that he was rejected from an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? because his family history was too dull.

The presenter said that the popular BBC One documentary series, which explores the genealogy of celebrity guests, failed to dig up anything interesting during a three-month period of research.

Speaking on the Snot, Sweat and Tears podcast, O’Leary 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.’”

He added that he had been told of two family members who were killed by the American Mafia in the 1930s, but the Who Do You Think You Are? researchers did not find a record of this.

“Bear in mind that Wexford is a port town, and my family are all sea-faring folk,” O’Leary said. “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.”

Read more: This Morning viewers call for Eamonn and Ruth to get their own show

“They couldn’t find any record of this,” he added. “ “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.”

O’Leary currently co-hosts This Morning on ITV every Friday with Alison Hammond.