When he first captivated audiences as a CITV presenter in the 1990s, Stephen Mulhern emerged as one of television’s most sought-after personalities.

Now a well-established presenter at the age of 46, Stephen began captivating the public’s attention with his childhood passion for magic, slowly climbing the ranks of TV presenting.

His impressive career boasts hosting roles on over 50 different shows, including popular programs such as Catchphrase and Deal Or No Deal, solidifying his status in the entertainment industry alongside some of its most renowned figures.

The combination of Stephen’s remarkable success and unwavering dedication has led to a substantial net worth, which he has wisely turned into a lucrative property empire.

Adding another exciting chapter to his storied career, Stephen is preparing to host Dancing On Ice, where he will team up again with his long-time friend Holly Willoughby. Their paths first crossed on-screen two decades ago, sparking a cherished collaboration.

He has described his new co-star, 42, as a ‘proper mate’ and they have had some wild times together in the past, from snogging to slapping each other.

Now, MailOnline takes a look at how Stephen Mulhern rose to fame from performing magic at Butlin’s to hosting one of the biggest shows on TV and amassing a huge personal fortune. 

Early start into entertainment 

Stephen learned the tricks of the showbiz trade early on, becoming skilled in a number of talents that helped him on his road to success.

While he now famed for being a TV presenter, Stephen’s first career path was as a magician. 

Raised alongside his three siblings in east London, he honed his people skills by working on his father Chris’s market stall. 

He previously told the Daily Mail: He said: ‘My family has 100 per cent made me who I am today. 

‘When I was helping Dad from the age of 11, I’d arrive at 4am at Petticoat Lane… I do work hard but there are moments when I’m sitting in my dressing room thinking, “This isn’t bad, is it?” I do feel lucky.’ 

He first took an interest in the art of illusion as a child, learning tricks from his father at the age of 11. 

Stephen then began performing at a young age, holding shows for the public during family holidays to Butlins.

Speaking about the experience as a Redcoat, he said: ‘What I have always said about Butlin’s is, and I genuinely believe this, I have friends that go to drama school, I think it gives you the best training ground because you’re in front of an audience straight away, there’s no messing about.’

At the age of 17, Stephen became the youngest ever member of The Magic Circle – an organisation dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.

However, he found himself temporarily suspended from the club after he broke one of The Magic Circle’s most sacredly kept rules – revealing how a trick is performed – while he was hosting Finger Tips on CITV. 

After leaving school, Stephen created his own magic show called Stephen’s Mega Mad Magic Show and won TV’s Big Big Talent Show, which secured him a slot on the 1997 Royal Variety Performance.

He then scored jobs at the Disney Channel and went on to host a number of magic shows, including Quick Trick Show, Tricky TV and Magic Numbers.

Stephen still enjoys performing live magic too, regularly returning to Butlin’s to perform three shows a day to packed-out crowds, insisting there is no better training than being faced with a live audience.

He explained: ‘Some people ask why I still do that, but it keeps me fresh, I enjoy it, and I learn more material for other shows because I know when those little nuggets hit home.’

He added: ‘Funnily enough I was chatting about this recently with Bradley Walsh. He said we were the last two standing who can go out, actually perform an act and hold an audience: I’ve got my own stage show, he does his own stage show too. I consider myself lucky that I get to do both.’

What few people know is that Stephen has other strings to his bow: he’s also a talented musician, proficient at violin and piano. 

He said: ‘I’ve never spoken about this before, but when I was 11 Jean-Michel Jarre played a concert in Docklands, and I accompanied him on the violin while he played the keyboard.’

He took up the piano aged 11, and revealed his new home now houses a white grand piano, explained: ‘I used to love John Lennon, and on one of his record covers he had a white grand piano.

‘I always said to my mum and dad that if I was ever lucky enough to get some money from work, the one thing I was going to do was buy a grand piano. And I have.’

Impressive career 

Stephen began his career on CITV in 1998, and worked on children’s TV show Finger Tips with Fearne Cotton from 2001 to 2004.

He also enjoyed a solo presenting stint with children’s show Tricky TV from 2005 to 2010 and co-hosted Holly & Stephen’s Saturday Showdown (originally called Ministry of Mayhem) with Holly in the Noughties.

He made the leap to adults TV in 2006 when he presented the ITV2 spin-off Dancing on Ice: Defrosted, while former co-host Holly and Phillip Schofield hosted the main show.

Stephen reunited with the pair when he presented inside The Hub, a small segment on This Morning and has also stood in for the regular presenters occasionally.

He landed another spin-off in 2007, hosting ITV2 spin-off Britain’s Got More Talent, while the main show was presented by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

He also narrated the ITV entertainment show Animals Do the Funniest Things from 2009 to 2011, while his first primetime hosting gig came in 2010 when he fronted Magic Numbers.

Three years later Stephen landed the role of host on the revived version of ITV game show Catchphrase, which he has helmed for a decade.

Other notable shows presented by Stephen include Big Star’s Little Star, Sunday Side Up, Pick Me!, Get Your Act Together, Go for It, The Next Great Magician and panel show Reality Bites.

He soon nabbed more work with Ant and Dec, who are both longstanding friends of Stephen since their early days in children’s TV, after they met at Butlin’s.

In 2016 he took over as the presenter of the Ant vs Dec segment on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

Another segment he hosted on the show, In For A Penny, went on to land its own stand alone show, with Stephen at the helm. 

Describing his bond with the Geordie duo, Stephen said: ‘We have a lot of fun. People forget that we’ve known each other for decades. I don’t think any of us could say anything to each other that would offend us. There’s a trust there.’

Their unshakeable bond has been cemented by the fact that Stephen now lives not far from them in south-west London. ‘We can easily just pop round to each other’s places, which is great,’ he says.

As well as TV work, Stephen hosted Sunday Mornings on Heart Radio with Emma Willis for six years until 2018 and is a regular stand-in on Virgin Radio UK. 

Last year saw him take on his biggest job yet, as the new host of the rebooted Deal or No Deal, taking over Noel Edmonds’ role.

Stephen has described Holly as a ‘proper mate’ and they have had some wild times together in the past, from snogging to slapping each other. 

The pair first worked together on CITV show Holly & Stephen’s Saturday Showdown, originally Ministry Of Mayhem, from January 2004 to 2006.

One of the programme’s most enduring viral moments was a bizarre exchange which saw Stephen kiss his co-presenter on the lips a total of five times.

The festive skit saw Holly open a present on the request of Stephen, containing a Christmas hat with mistletoe dangling from the front.

Holly reacted: ‘Hooray for me! I can kiss all the boys in the world all the time’. but after Stephen went in for a smooch himself she said: ‘You don’t count.’

However, the Catchphrase star said that ‘whoever you’re underneath the mistletoe with, you must kiss’ and delivered another peck.

Eventually growing frustrated with her new-found attention, Holly removed the hat and declared that her colleague was ‘definitely on the naughty list’. 

Another wild moment from the show saw Holly smack her co-host round the face for jokingly insulting her game-show alter ego Polly.

She could not contain her excitement after a stunned studio audience were left deciding whether to laugh or gasp – but Stephen took it well.

The two have been firm friends for two decades ever since and it was not just the time on-screen that they shared.

Holly reflected on her time presenting children’s TV, telling Mail On Sunday’s Live magazine in 2019: ‘There were times when we went straight from the hotel bar to going live on air.

‘Everyone in children’s TV drinks until 5am. If you mess up, no one cares. It got a bit too wild when my breast popped out of my dress.

‘It doesn’t help when you read the script and you’ve got to drink anchovies in custard with some eight year old. No matter how hard you scrub in the shower, you can’t get the smell of custard pie off your skin.’

In the years since, the pair have occasionally crossed paths on shows such as Celebrity Juice and This Morning.

In 2014, Stephen lifted the lid on his close decade-long friendship with his former co-presenter in an interview with The Sun.

The star revealed he goes to Holly for advice if he’s got a problem and he praised her as a ‘proper mate’.

He told the publication: ‘Ant and Dec, Emma Willis and Holly Willoughby are proper mates. But that’s about it.

‘If I had a problem I’d go to Holly, and if I want advice that makes no sense and probably makes things worse, I’ll ask Ant and Dec.’

Multimillion pound fortune 

Stephen’s impressive career has helped him build a huge fortune and multimillion property empire. 

According to Celebrity Net Worth, he is reported to have a net worth of $3million, roughly £2,600,000. 

He is said to have made £800,000 in 2021 – despite the pandemic causing disruption to TV schedules – taking his personal wealth to nearly £5million.

The whopping figure means that he earned more than £2,000 a day and saw his assets rise to £4.91million in the year ending February 2022.

Stephen has also invested heavily in real estate, believed to own at least six properties around the country. 

He has reportedly invested at least £2.2 million into buy-to-let properties, that are now estimated to have a combined worth of around £7 million.

He owns property firm JFDI Productions, which Land Registry files show have bought houses in South Leicester and Essex in 2019, as well as two flats in South West London and another in Essex between 2015 and 2020.

Stephen’s sixth property is his current home in London, which he bought for £910,000 in 2013.

Choosing career over love 

Stephen’s success has maybe come at a price, as he’s admitted previously to not having much of a dating life as he spends all his time focused on his career.

He is famously tight-lipped about his private life, but is believed to be single and has never married.

In 2018, Stephen told Celebs Now: ‘Last time I went on a date was about four years ago. That makes me sound really sad! I need a life. I need to stop working so much.’

His only known romance was with EastEnders star Emma Barton, who he met while starring in a pantomime production of Snow White in 2008.

The couple kept their relationship out of the public eye and dated for three years, before splitting in 2011, reportedly on amicable terms.

Dancing On Ice 

Last month it was announced that Stephen has taken on the coveted role as co-host of Dancing On Ice.

He is replacing Phillip Scofield in the role, opposite regular presenter Holly, after admitting that it would be ‘amazing’ to front the show.

Stephen emerged as the frontrunner to take the job early, as he presented ITV2 spinoff series Defrosted for a year back in 2006,

He also knows the job already, as he stood in for Phillip on the main show back in 2022, when the presenter fell ill with Covid.

Ahead of his confirmation as the permanent new host, Stephen admitted he was in talks to take the job and gushed that it would be a ‘great time’ to reunite with Holly.

He told MailOnline: ‘I used to do the spinoff show Defrosted and when I stood in for Phil when he wasn’t too well, he had Covid, I really enjoyed it and it was so lovely being back with Holly.

‘We had a great time together plus lots of the team were the same from when I did the ITV2 show.

‘The lineup is the best it has been in a few years… I am keeping across the lineup, just in case… It is a huge staple, and it has been around.’

Having hosted Dancing On Ice with Holly for the past 12 series, Phillip will no longer be involved with the programme after being axed from all his roles on ITV earlier this year.

The channel fired him after he admitted to lying about a romantic relationship he had with a former younger colleague, immediately ending his contract at This Morning. 

Holly has presented the show from its inception in 2006 until 2011, before Christine Lampard took over for the next three series until the show ended in 2014.

The series was then revived by ITV in 2018, with both Holly and Phillip returning as hosts up until this year. 

However, her future on the show had been thrown into doubt after she stepped down from This Morning after finally being ‘tipped over the edge’ by an alleged ‘kidnap and murder plot’.

This weekend, one of Holly’s friends told MailOnline that having Stephen join the show helped Holly make the decision to return.

They said: ‘It really made a difference to Holly’s mindset to know that Stephen would be with her all of the way. It has really made her smile.

 ‘When you have that much history with someone you feel safe. The last year has been a huge change for her. For years and years, Phil was with her and suddenly he was gone. 

‘To be working with Stephen again at such a poignant time in her career is special for Holly. Whether she went back to Dancing On Ice was a quandary for Holly, some gentle persuasion from Stephen definitely helped to seal the deal.’

Stars preparing to take on the ice challenge this year include former Love Island winner and West End performer Amber Davies, ex-professional boxer Ricky Hatton, actress Claire Sweeney, Corrie star Ryan Thomas, radio DJ Adele Roberts, and S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt.

EastEnders actor Ricky Norwood, Made In Chelsea star Miles Nazaire, Olympian Greg Rutherford, ski jumper Eddie the Eagle, comedian Lou Sanders and Emmerdale’s Roxy Shahidi complete the lineup.