Darren Kennedy (born 12 January 1981) is an Irish

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a " television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

, entrepreneur, style expert and creative director from Dublin, Ireland now based between New York, Los Angeles and London. He has hosted television shows on Channel 5, BBC, ITV and RTÉ. He is the creator and co-founder of men's grooming brand Kennedy & Co.

Career

Broadcasting

Kennedy began his career in Ireland as a reporter on the

Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented '' The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until ...

show 2FM and TV’s Operation Transformation on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

, and hosted celebrity entertainment series #Trending on

RTÉ 2 (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

and regularly presented on

ITV 1 ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Island ...

's This Morning alongside

Holly Willoughby Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981) is an English television presenter, author and model. She is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2009–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 2018–present) alongsid ...

and

Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...

. He co-created and presented 'Gay Daddy', and co-presented and devised ''The Unemployables'' series with

Jennifer Maguire Jennifer Zamparelli (née Maguire) (born 9 April 1980) is an Irish comedian and television presenter. She is known for her role on the TV show ''Republic of Telly'', where she was a primary writer, and as co-host of the 2FM morning show ''Break ...

. Well known and respected for his aesthetic & sense of style, his home was featured in ''Celebrity Home of The Year'' on RTE One. In 2019 he was a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. In March 2020, he was announced as one of the Fab Five on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's new flagship fashion makeover series ''You Are What You Wear'' with

Rylan Clark Ross Richard Clark (born 25 October 1988), known professionally as Rylan, is an English broadcaster and model. He finished in fifth place on the ninth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2012, and the following year, he won the eleventh series of ...

. In January 2021, he took part in

Celebrity Mastermind ''Celebrity Mastermind'' is a celebrity version of ''Mastermind'', a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. It began in 2002 as a one-off special, expanding to the current arrangement of 10 episodes, broadcast during December ...

. As of January 2023, he is presentin
'Celebrity Closets'
from Los Angeles on ITV's Lorraine, also broadcast across the USA on Emmy Award winning entertainment news progamme

EXTRA Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

, where he interviews celebrities at home as they take viewers on a trip down memory lane via their wardrobes. In April 2023, Kennedy launched his podcast
The Number
where he explores the question can a life be measured in numbers? Each week, he asks his guests their seven most significant numbers and how they've shaped their lives. He is a prominent voice on

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

an
activism

Dancing with the Stars

In 2019, Kennedy took part in the third series of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' on RTÉ. He was partnered with

Karen Byrne Karen Byrne (born 30 May 1992) is an Irish dancer and choreographer. She is known as being one of the professional dancers on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars. Early life Byrne was born in Ballyfermot in Dublin. She has been danci ...

, they competed into the fifth week. ; Professional partner :

; Average: 16.5; Place: 9th

Fashion

He designed a contemporary suiting and outerwear collection in collaboration with Irish tailor Louis Copeland which produced six sell-out collections. He is a fashion ambassador for the UK highstreet optician

Specsavers Specsavers Optical Group Ltd is a British multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australasia and the Nordic countries. The chain offers optometry and optician services for eyesight testing and sells gl ...

. He regularly works with some fashion brands including Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Topman. He has hosted for BAFTA, GQ, several seasons of

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

Festival for the British Fashion Council and live on the red carpet for the Brit Awards. Darren also regularly contributes to Beverly Hills Lifestyle magazine.

Entrepreneur

Kennedy's first solo venture was in his early twenties when he established a style bureau providing consultancy services to personal and corporate clients including blue chip companies Google, Tommy Hilfiger and BMW. An offshoot of this business developed into an online magazine ''Help My Style''. In November 2018, he launched Irish Made, skin and hair care brand Kennedy & Co. In 2020, the brand announced it had signed a deal to be distributed across the Middle East.

Awards

Kennedy is regularly nominated in most Stylish Man award categories. He was voted winner of Ireland's Most Stylish Man at the

VIP (magazine) ''VIP'' (standing for Very Important Person) is both the title of a magazine and a publishing group owned by the Irish publisher Michael O'Doherty. The VIP group currently consists of three titles (VIP, TV Now, Stellar) and four companies (Min ...

Style Awards in 2013. He subsequently went on to host the televised awards show for three consecutive years on TV3. In 2016 he was nominated for the IFTA Film & Drama Awards TV Rising Star award. Kennedy was named Most influential Fashion Journalist in Ireland in the annual Murray Twitter Index.Murray Twitter Index
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References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Darren 1981 births Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Living people Television personalities from Dublin (city) Television presenters from the Republic of Ireland Irish LGBT broadcasters 21st-century Irish LGBT people People educated at St Aidan's C.B.S. Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology