HAVING recently shone the spotlight on Blur, today’s Memories spread celebrates another of Colchester’s favourite sons - Dermot O’Leary.

The 47-year-old TV and radio presenter was born in the town, went to primary school in Marks Tey and later joined St Benedict’s Catholic College. He also studied at Colchester Sixth Form College.

Dermot, who played American football for the Colchester Gladiators in his teens, has gone on to enjoy an illustrious TV career.

His biggest ‘gig’ was working alongside Simon Cowell as host of The X Factor.

He presented the National Television Awards for a decade and has hosted Soccer Aid, the celebrity football match in aid of Unicef.

These pictures were taken in October 2014, when Dermot returned for a book-signing session at Tesco High Woods.