Desmond “Des” O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter. He recorded a total of 36 albums and had four top-ten UK singles, including the number-one hit single “I Pretend”, which sold over 16 million copies worldwide.

O'Connor entered the show-biz world in the 1950s, and prior to his break on television, he would perform professionally on stages as a singer and a comedian. He was also paid to host variety shows, which set him up for a success when he became a talk-show host a few years later (The Des O'Connor Show, Des O'Connor Tonight, and more).

In 1958, when Buddy Holly toured the UK, Des O'Connor was paid £100 per week to be the show’s compère.

O'Connor occasionally appeared alongside English comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, where his singing ability was often light-heartedly mocked, with Des taking part in the sketches.

Throughout his career, Des worked alongside many pop stars including Adam Faith, Shirley Bassey (who he briefly dated in the 1950s), Barbra Streisand and Cilla Black. He also toured with Buddy Holly (as previously mentioned) and Jason Donovan.