Dean McCullough

Dean McCullough
Born (1992-07-09) 9 July 1992
Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
EducationGlengormley High School
OccupationRadio presenter

Dean McCullough (born 9 July 1992) is a Northern Irish radio presenter. He presents at BBC Radio 1 and has previously presented on Gaydio. In 2024, he was a contestant on the twenty-fourth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Early and personal life

McCullough was born on 9 July 1992.[1] He is from Newtownabbey in the south-east of County Antrim in Northern Ireland.[2] McCullough realised he was gay at the age of 11 or 12. He attended Glengormley High School and obtained a scholarship from Laine Theatre Arts.[1]

Career

McCullough began presenting on the radio as a volunteer for Wandsworth Radio.[1] In May 2018, McCullough began presenting in the afternoon with Emma Goswell on Gaydio. Their show covered current LGBTQ+ issues. McCullough and Goswell moved on to present the Gaydio breakfast show until 2021.[3][4]

In December 2020, McCullough filled in for Clara Amfo on BBC Radio 1 for two days. He returned in March 2021 to cover the early breakfast show on Fridays for five weeks.[5] In September 2021, he began hosting the 10:30 to 13:00 slot on Radio 1, Fridays to Sundays, replacing Jordan North - who went on to host the station's weekday (except Fridays) drivetime show alongside Vick Hope.[6][7] His show is broadcast from MediaCityUK in Salford.[8]

In July 2022, it was announced that McCullough and Vicky Hawkesworth would replace Scott Mills and Chris Stark as co-hosts of Radio 1's afternoon show, from 1pm until 3.30 pm. Mills and Stark left Radio 1 to respectively present shows on Radio 2 and Capital.[9]

Since 2023, McCullough has appeared regularly on Big Brother: Late & Live. In November 2024, McCullough appeared as a contestant on the twenty-fourth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[10] He became the second campmate to be eliminated from the series, finishing in eleventh place.[11]

In July 2024, McCullough moved from Radio 1's afternoon show to take on the early breakfast show, replacing Arielle Free who went on to host Radio 1's Rave Up show. He also started hosting hour-long editions of Radio 1's Pop Anthems show.

In July 2026, the BBC announced that McCullough was to leave Radio 1, with McCullough saying it was a hard decision to leave after the "most incredible 6 years at Radio 1" but that it was "time for a change".[12]

McCullough’s first TV break was in E4’s Young Free and Single live. The reality show centred around a group of young singles living in London, navigating the dating scene. Dean was a cast member, starring alongside the UK’s most in demand hand model Thomas King. The show was hosted by Steve Jones and only ran for one series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McBride, Catriona (7 July 2021). "Radio 1's Dean McCullough: 'We need to celebrate how great Northern Ireland is'". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Northern Ireland presenter takes top Radio One music slot". BBC News. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ↑ Reid-Smith, Tris (11 May 2018). "Gaydio freshens up UK radio with new show on hot LGBTI topics". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Emma and Dean lined up for Gaydio Breakfast". RadioToday. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Maidment, Adam (31 March 2021). "Manchester DJ returning to BBC Radio 1 following successful stint last year". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  6. ↑ Hargan, Garret (10 September 2021). "BBC Radio 1's Dean McCullough excited to bring 'Northern Ireland-ness' to 'London-centric' station". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "More Christmas Takeover presenters wanted at BBC Radio 1". RadioToday. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  8. ↑ @BBCR1 (30 June 2021). "Dean McCullough will become a permanent member of the Radio 1 family, as he hosts a brand new weekend show live fro…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ Delaney, Zoe (5 July 2022). "BBC unveils two new co-presenters to take over from Scott Mills on Radio 1". mirror. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "I'm a Celebrity 2024: Coleen Rooney, GK Barry and Danny Jones in line-up". BBC News. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "Second I'm a Celebrity star of the series eliminated". The Independent. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Dean McCullough and Melvin Odoom to leave BBC Radio 1 in shake-up". BBC News. 15 July 2026. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
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