Kay Burley: The journalist who was the face of Sky News from the start

Kay Burley was the look of Sky News from the opening of the channel, having been determination since the transmission started successful 1989.

The 64-year-old journalist, who has been astatine the broadcaster for 36 years, has covered royal events, wide elections and large events for Sky News.

Raised successful Wigan, Lancashire, Burley’s parents worked successful a cardboard mill and she attended Whitley High School.

She took her archetypal steps into journalism reporting for the Wigan Evening Post and Chronicle aged 17.

Eventually she secured a occupation with the BBC connected its section vigor stations and past Tyne Tees Television, earlier joining the present defunct TV-am successful 1985 arsenic a newsman and occasional newsreader.

Burley was recruited by Scottish broadcaster Andrew Neil and moved to the fledgling Sky News successful the 1980s arsenic 1 of its founding presenters, covering large stories including the decease of Diana, Princess of Wales and the September 11 violent attacks successful the US.

On juncture she wrote for the Sunday Mirror paper and stood successful for Iain Dale connected his LBC show.

Burley joined the 2nd bid of ITV’s Dancing On Ice successful 2007, skating for Macmillan Cancer Care successful representation of her mother, who died of bosom cancer.

She was eliminated successful the 5th week and donated her quality interest to the charity.

In February 2010, Burley apologised to impermanent Peter Andre who became tearful aft she aired comments by the erstwhile footballer Dwight Yorke, who criticised the vocalist aft helium volunteered to follow Katie Price’s archetypal child, and Yorke’s son, Harvey.

Burley published her debut novel, First Ladies, successful 2011. The erotic romance acceptable successful the media manufacture received mostly antagonistic reviews.

September 2018 saw her fixed her ain amusement connected Sky News arsenic portion of a large shake-up astatine the channel.

The adjacent year, she moved to the meal clip slot, with her programme rebranded as Kay Burley @Breakfast and billed arsenic “a hard-hitting, news-making meal quality programme that volition acceptable the docket for the day”.

In November 2019, she “empty chaired” past Conservative Party president James Cleverly aft claiming helium had missed a planned quality connected her meal show, though the Tory MP responded that helium was not owed to appear.

During the coronavirus pandemic, she regularly grilled politicians astir lockdown rules.

In May 2020, she questioned Cabinet curate Michael Gove connected the contention implicit Dominic Cummings’ travel to Barnard Castle.

But successful December she admitted to breaking Covid-19 rules during celebrations for her 60th day and, pursuing an interior review, was suspended from her relation for six months.

The channel’s governmental exertion Beth Rigby and analogous Inzamam Rashid were besides some taken disconnected aerial for 3 months aft attending the party.

Burley returned to Sky News connected June 7 2021, and aboriginal told the Daily Mail she “thought I was Covid-compliant. I wasn’t. I made a mistake”.

“I was an idiot and I fto myself and my viewers down,” she said.

“I’m atrocious for what I did and for immoderate heartache I caused the loyal friends with maine astatine the time.”

A twelvemonth aboriginal she presented a programme quizzing Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak arsenic they vied to go premier minister.

Meanwhile, successful October 2023, Sky News conceded that on-air remarks by Burley astir the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Dr Husam Zomlot, “gave a perchance misleading representation” of his views.

More than 1,500 complaints were made to the media watchdog Ofcom astir the Breakfast With Kay Burley programme connected October 10, which took spot aft Hamas launched an onslaught connected Israel.

Last year, Burley anchored the overnight wide predetermination results programme for Sky News which saw Sir Keir Starmer unafraid the premiership.