Stephen Mulhern
- Television presenter
- magician
- comedian
Stephen Daniel Mulhern (born 4 April 1977) is an English television presenter, magician and comedian. He began his career at CITV presenting the children’s television shows Finger Tips (2001–2004) and Tricky TV (2005–2010). Mulhern went on to present various television shows for ITV, including Britain's Got More Talent (2007–2019), Animals Do the Funniest Things (2007–2011), This Morning's Hub (2011–2014), Catchphrase (2013–present), Big Star's Little Star (2013–2018), In for a Penny (2019–present), Rolling In It (2020–2021), Deal or No Deal (2023–present) and Dancing on Ice (2024–present).
Early life and education
Stephen Daniel Mulhern[1] was born on 4 April 1977[2] in Stratford, East London.[3] His parents were market traders.[4] He attended St Bonaventure's in Forest Gate, East London.[5]
Career
Magic
Mulhern gained his interest in comedy and magic from his father, who taught him tricks when he was 11 years old.[citation needed] The family spent their holidays at Butlin's Minehead in Somerset, where Mulhern began performing in public. He became the youngest member of The Magic Circle, which brought about an appearance on Blue Peter in a piece about Harry Houdini.[citation needed] Mulhern was later suspended from The Magic Circle for revealing a magic trick on the children's television programme Finger Tips. The suspension was eventually lifted.[6]
After leaving school, he created a magic show under the title Stephen's Mega Mad Magic Show. Turned down at age 18 by Michael Barrymore for My Kind of People, he won another television talent show called The Big Big Talent Show which was hosted by Jonathan Ross, and as a result, in 1997 was invited to take part in the Royal Variety Performance at the Victoria Palace Theatre.
Mulhern has appeared on the Disney Channel and then on CITV alongside Holly Willoughby on Saturday Showdown. His television credits since have included The Quick Trick Show and more recently Tricky TV. In 2005, Mulhern created and presented the Channel 4 magic show Freaky. In 2006, he performed a magic routine in an episode of The Slammer and came in second place. The dance group Flawless, who went on to perform on Britain's Got Talent (a spin-off show which Mulhern presents), came first. Mulhern's 2010 entertainment show Magic Numbers featured magic and illusions during the phone-in process.
For his Tricky TV series, he used glamour models and bodybuilders, or viewers of the programme and their mothers. He also often uses female celebrities. Most notable of these is his former Saturday Showdown co-host Holly Willoughby, who has assisted him on many occasions in a variety of illusions including being sawn in half and beheaded with a guillotine.[7] Other celebrity assistants have included the singers Katherine Jenkins, Rachel Stevens, Louise Redknapp and the actress Mischa Barton.
Radio
On 5 August 2012, Mulhern became co-presenter of Sunday breakfast from 9am to 12pm with Emma Willis across the Heart Network. The duo occasionally present the Heart London Breakfast show when regular hosts, Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden are away.[8]
In 2021, Mulhern began presenting shows on Virgin Radio UK. He covered Graham Norton in the weekend morning 9:30am to 12:30pm slot in August[9] and also presented a week of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show in December.[10] Mulhern returned to Virgin to host another week of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show in April 2022.[11]
Television
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Stephen_Mulhern_2015.jpg/220px-Stephen_Mulhern_2015.jpg)
Mulhern began presenting on CITV in 1998. He co-hosted four series of Finger Tips with Fearne Cotton from 2001 until 2003 and with Naomi Wilkinson in 2004. He presented children's show Tricky TV from 2005 to 2010. He also co-hosted Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown (originally called Ministry of Mayhem) with Holly Willoughby from 2004 to 2006.
From 2006 to 2007, Mulhern hosted the ITV2 spin-off Dancing on Ice: Defrosted, while Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby hosted the main show.
From 2007 to 2019, Mulhern hosted ITV2 spin-off Britain's Got More Talent, which aired immediately after the main ITV show, which is hosted by Ant & Dec. Since 2013, Mulhern has become associated with the word 'unbelievable' which slowly became his catchphrase, usually used on Britain's Got More Talent as he walks offscreen at the end of a section, with Ant & Dec often mimicking him[12] and is also known for saying "doosh!"
From 2009 to 2011, Mulhern narrated the ITV entertainment show Animals Do the Funniest Things.
Mulhern regularly presented inside 'The Hub', a small segment on the ITV daytime show This Morning. He most recently hosted the segment on Thursday and Friday mornings although had previously hosted on Wednesdays and Thursdays until the departure of Matt Johnson in the summer of 2013. Mulhern has occasionally presented the main show, standing in for the regular presenters.
In 2010, he hosted primetime game show Magic Numbers on ITV. Mulhern has hosted numerous episodes of The Big Quiz.
Since April 2013, Mulhern has presented a revived version of ITV game show Catchphrase.[13] In September 2013, Mulhern began presenting ITV's Big Star's Little Star, a show which sees celebrities and their children compete to win up to £15,000 for charity.[14]
On 27 October 2013, Mulhern began hosting a live Sunday morning show called Sunday Side Up on ITV.[15] On 21 December 2013, Mulhern hosted entertainment special The Illusionists on ITV.[16] On 14 September 2014, Mulhern guest hosted an episode of Sunday Night at the Palladium.[17]
In early 2015, Mulhern presented the primetime ITV reality series Get Your Act Together.[18] On 5 February 2015, he began presenting ITV2 panel show Reality Bites .[19] In 2015, he presented The Magic Show Story a one-off special for ITV[20] and The Saturday Night Story, a two-part series focusing on Saturday night television.[21] In 2015, Mulhern presented Pick Me!, a daytime game show for ITV as well as ITV's annual charity telethon Text Santa. In March 2015, Mulhern became a victim of the Ant & Dec Undercover segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
In February 2016, Mulhern became the presenter of the 'Ant vs Dec' segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway after replacing Ashley Roberts.[22] In 2016, Mulhern presented Go for It, and co-hosted The Next Great Magician alongside Rochelle Humes for ITV. On 12 April 2018, it was announced that Mulhern would host The National Lottery Draws on ITV.[23]
In 2019, Mulhern presented In For A Penny, which is based on a segment he presents on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway of the same name.[24]
In August 2020, Mulhern began presenting a new game show on ITV, Rolling In It, featuring both contestants and celebrities. In February 2022, Mulhern guest presented Dancing on Ice alongside Willoughby whilst Phillip Schofield self-isolated from COVID-19. In January 2023 it was reported that a reboot of the show Deal or No Deal would be hosted by Mulhern airing from 20 November 2023.[25] In December 2023, Mulhern was announced as the permanent co-host of Dancing on Ice, as a replacement for Schofield who resigned from ITV earlier in the year.[26]
Filmography
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Timmy Towers | Merlin | 1 episode |
1998–2002 | CITV | Presenter | Presenter during studio segments in between children's programmes shown during afternoons on ITVf |
1999–2004 | The Quick Trick Show | 5 series | |
2000–2004 | Finger Tips | Co-presenter | With Fearne Cotton and Naomi Wilkinson |
2002–2003 | Brilliant Creatures | Presenter | |
2003 | You Can Do Magic | ||
SMTV Live | |||
2003–2004 | Globo Loco | ||
2004 | Junior Eurovision Song Contest: The British Final | Co-presenter | With Holly Willoughby and Michael Underwood |
2004–2006 | Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown | With Holly Willoughby | |
2005 | Stars in Their Eyes | Himself | Performer; 2 episodes |
2005–2006, 2010 | Tricky TV | Presenter | 3 series |
2006–2007 | Dancing on Ice: Defrosted | ||
2007–2019 | Britain's Got More Talent | 13 series | |
2007–2011 | Animals Do the Funniest Things | 15 episodes | |
2009 | All Star Impression Show | ||
Anonymous | 1 series | ||
2010 | Magic Numbers | ||
The 5 O'Clock Show | Co-presenter | With Kimberly Walsh | |
2010–2013 | Celebrity Juice | Himself | Guest; 3 episodes |
2010, 2015 | Coronation Street Uncovered: Live | Presenter | 2 episodes |
2011 | Born to Shine | Guest Judge | 1 episode |
2011–2014 | This Morning's Hub | Presenter | Regular |
2011–present | The Big Quiz | 7 episodes | |
2012 | Emmerdale Live – The Fallout | TV special | |
All Star Mr & Mrs: Text Santa Special | TV charity special | ||
2012–2013 | This Morning | Guest Presenter | 4 episodes |
2013 | The Paul O'Grady Show | 1 episode | |
Sunday Side Up | Presenter | 1 series | |
The Illusionists | TV special | ||
2013–2018 | Big Star's Little Star | 5 series | |
2013–present | Catchphrase[27] | 7 series | |
2014 | Sunday Night at the Palladium | Guest Presenter | 1 episode |
2015 | Get Your Act Together | Presenter | 1 series |
Reality Bites | |||
The Magic Show Story | TV special | ||
The Saturday Night Story | Narrator | Two-part series | |
The Nation's Favourite Disney Song | TV special | ||
Text Santa | Co-presenter | Christmas appeal show | |
Pick Me! | Presenter | 1 series | |
2015–2018 | Through the Keyhole | Himself | 3 episodes |
2016 | Go for It | Presenter | |
The Next Great Magician | Co-presenter | 1 series | |
2016–2024 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Presenter | 'Ant vs Dec' and 'In for a Penny' segments |
2018 | Big Star's Bigger Star[28] | 1 series | |
2018—present | The National Lottery Draws | During advert breaks | |
2019–present | In For a Penny[29] | 4 series | |
2020–2021 | Rolling In It[30] | 2 series | |
The One Show | Guest Presenter | 2 episodes | |
2021 | Game of Talents | Himself | 1 episode |
2022, 2024–present | Dancing on Ice[31] | Guest presenter (2022), main co-presenter (2024–present) | Alongside Holly Willoughby |
2022 | Britain's Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician | Presenter | Standing in for Ant & Dec |
2023–present | Deal or No Deal | The reboot of the former Channel 4 show which was last shown in 2016 |
Radio
Year | Station | Show | Role |
---|---|---|---|
2012–2018 | Heart Network | Sunday mornings | Co-presenter with Emma Willis |
2021–present | Virgin Radio UK | Cover presenter | The Graham Norton Radio Show and The Chris Evans Breakfast Show |
References
- ^ Brown, Nancy (9 October 2021). "Stephen Mulhern: What is the Celebrity Catchphrase star's net worth and how did he get his TV break?". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ Waring, Olivia (14 April 2018). "Stephen Mulhern age, net worth, relationships and role on Britain's Got Talent". Metro. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ @StephenMulhern (24 May 2015). "Hello, I was born and grew up in Stratford East London x" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Presenters: Stephen Mulhern". 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Stephen Mulhern | St Bonaventure's". Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Stephen Mulhern suspended from the Magic Circle". Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ Stephen Mulhern: 'I'd like a variety act to win this year!' Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine ITV.com
- ^ Stephen Mulhern and Emma Willis Archived 12 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine Heart
- ^ "Stephen Mulhern to cover Graham Norton at Virgin Radio". 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Stephen Mulhern to cover Chris Evans on Virgin Radio Breakfast". 17 December 2021.
- ^ @VirginRadioUK (11 April 2022). "Welcome to Monday!Plus welcome to the mighty @StephenMulhern who will be sitting in for this week!What are you..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Stephen Mulhern is unbelievable..." Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ Morgan Jeffery (31 May 2012). "'Britain's Got More Talent' Stephen Mulhern for new 'Catchphrase'?". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 18 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Alex Fletcher (11 October 2013). "Stephen Mulhern to host new live ITV Sunday morning show". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ "The Illusionists". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ "Sunday Night At The Palladium". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ^ "ITV challenges celebrities to Get Your Act Together". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "Reality Bites". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ "The Magic Show Story". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "The Saturday Night Story". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Episode 1". Itv.com. 20 February 2016. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ Ben Lee (12 April 2018). "The National Lottery results will air on ITV for first time". Digitalspy.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ Vicki Newman (3 April 2019). "Saturday Night Takeaway spin-off In For A Penny air date finally confirmed – Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ Methven, Nicola (19 January 2023). "Stephen Mulhern set to relaunch one of Britain's most iconic TV game shows". mirror. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67832517
- ^ Beth Curtis (19 July 2012). "Stephen Mulhern's 'Catchphrase' revival ordered to pilot by ITV". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Big Star's Little Star is getting a spin-off... with parents". Digitalspy.com. 2 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Stephen Mulhern's SNT sketch In For A Penny IS getting its own series". Digitalspy.com. 7 April 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Rolling In It Episode 1". Press Centre. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Dancing on Ice announces Phil Schofield replacement for next show". Digital Spy. 5 February 2022.
External links
- Stephen Mulhern at IMDb
- Official website