Dean McCullough (born July 1992) is a Northern Irish radio DJ and TV presenter. He currently presents at

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and has previously presented on

Gaydio Gaydio is a radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) people in the United Kingdom, broadcast on 88.4 FM in Greater Manchester, on DAB digital radio in Greater London, parts of the Home Counties, Manchester, Brigh ...

Early life

McCullough was born in 1992. He is from

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement in North Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course. It surrounds Carnmoney Hill, and was formed from the merging of severa ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. McCullough realised he was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

at the age of 11 or 12. He attended

Glengormley High School Glengormley Intergrated High School is a secondary school in the town of Newtownabbey in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was opened in September 1971. It is a non-selective school accepting children from all academic backgrounds. The sch ...

and obtained a scholarship from

Laine Theatre Arts Laine Theatre Arts, sometimes referred to as Laines, is an independent performing arts college, based in the town of Epsom in Surrey, England. The college was founded in 1974 by former professional dancer and dance teacher Betty Laine OBE, and ...

Career

McCullough began presenting on the radio as a volunteer for

Wandsworth Radio Riverside Radio is a local digital radio station based in Battersea, London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It ...

. In May 2018, McCullough began presenting in the afternoon with Emma Goswell on

. Their show covered current

LGBTQ+ ' is an Acronym, initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term for Sexuality and gende ...

issues. In December 2020, McCullough filled in for

Clara Amfo Clara Amfo (born 22 May 1984) is a British radio broadcaster, television presenter, podcast host and voice-over artist. She is known for presenting her shows on BBC Radio 1. Early life and education Amfo was born in Kingston upon Thames in Lo ...

for two days. He returned in March 2021 to cover the early breakfast show on Fridays for five weeks. In September 2021, he began hosting the 10:30 to 13:00 slot on Radio 1, Fridays to Sundays, replacing

Jordan North Jordan North (born 14 February 1990) is an English radio DJ, known for hosting shows on BBC Radio 1. In 2020, he was announced as the runner-up of the twentieth series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Early life North was born in ...

- who went on to host the station's weekday (except Fridays) drivetime show alongside

Vick Hope Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British TV and radio presenter, journalist and published author. Vick hosts three shows a week across BBC Radio 1 "Going Home with Vick and Jordan", "Life Hacks" and "Official Chart: F ...

. His show is broadcast from MediaCityUK in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. In July 2022, it was announced that Dean would replace Scott Mills as co-host of Radio 1's weekday afternoon show, from 1pm until 3.30 pm, alongside Vicky Hawkesworth.

References

External links

''Dean and Vicky''
(BBC Radio 1) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCullough, Dean BBC Radio 1 presenters Radio DJs from Northern Ireland Living people 1992 births LGBT entertainers from Northern Ireland