Kay Burley
Encyclopedia
Kay Burley is an English
television newsreader
, presenter
and journalist
. She currently anchors the Afternoon Live
programme on the Sky News
station.
, Lancashire
. She was raised as a Roman Catholic.
Her first reporting job was at the Evening Post and Chronicle in Wigan at the age of 17. She worked in local radio and TV, including Tyne Tees Television
before joining TV-am
in 1985 as a reporter and occasional newsreader. From 1987, she presented TV-am's first hour, filling in for Caroline Righton
and covering Anne Diamond
's maternity
leave.
She joined Sky Television, launching the Sky One Entertainment Channel
in November 1988 with her own documentary "The Satellite Revolution". She moved to the then fledgling Sky News
in 1988.
Among many noteworthy assignments, she fronted Sky News coverage from Sri Lanka following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
and subsequent tsunami. In 2005, she was prominent in Sky News' coverage of both the General Election
and the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.
Burley is also known for presenting news coverage on Christmas
morning on Sky News, a tradition that, as of 2010, she has upheld for the last 20 years.
Burley is also an occasional contributor to the tabloid Sunday Mirror
, and in the summer of 2006 appeared occasionally on Five's news bulletins.
less than 24 hours after Katie Price
and Alex Reid
were married in Las Vegas. Andre was booked in advance to promote his new album, when Burley questioned him about Price, Reid and his children. He was also asked to comment on an interview Dwight Yorke
, the father of Price's first child Harvey, had given to Sky News in October 2009. When the questions advanced to asking whether Andre feared losing custody of his children to Reid, he became visibly upset, declared "I was not prepared for this", and asked to end the interview. Burley's treatment of Andre garnered over 900 complaints to Ofcom
.
Later in February 2010, Burley was forced to apologise on-air for offending Catholics
when she joked that US Vice President
Joe Biden
, who had ashes on his forehead to mark Ash Wednesday
, had a "large bruise" that he had picked up from "walking into a door" or from slipping on ice during his recent trip to Canada
for the 2010 Winter Olympics
.
On 8 May 2010, Burley was heckled during an interview outside the Houses of Parliament by a protester who chanted "Sack Kay Burley. Watch the BBC. Sky News is shit!" Burley, who was talking to Ben Page from Ipsos MORI, commented that "they don't like The Sun
, they don't like us, they don't like Rupert
" before the interview was abruptly terminated, with the broadcast cutting to a silent, animated Sky News logo for over a minute. Burley was also criticised for an interview with David Babbs, Executive Director of 38 Degrees
in which she repeatedly interrupted him as he talked about the possible consequences of a coalition between the Conservatives
and Liberal Democrats
, saying, "your views are not going to sway the people that are talking behind closed doors. [...] The public have voted for a hung parliament. We have got exactly what we voted for... so you marching down past Westminster today will make no difference whatsoever. [...] Why don't you just go home? Why don't you go home and watch it on Sky News?" The Guardian
commented "Paxman
, it ain't." The media regulator Ofcom
received over 700 complaints about the incident from viewers, but found no breach of its code.
On 9 September 2010 Burley interrupted Labour MP
Chris Bryant
during an interview regarding developments in the News of the World phone hacking affair
with the words, "No, no, no, you can't say that, sir... No, no, no, no, I have to interrupt you, do you have evidence for that?... Pretty strong claim if you don't!" When Bryant responded that the evidence for his statement was clearly included in the parliamentary debate that Burley was actually covering in that section of the programme, she replied, "So you are in a position to have listened to the debate and read the report and as a result you are content to say that on telly.?" Bryant responded, "I have just said that. You seem to be a bit dim
, if you don't mind me saying so."
In the wake of escalated developments in the News International phone hacking scandal in July, 2011, a report by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism found that Andy Coulson
"arranged for Alexander Kutner, the son of Sky News anchor Kay Burley, to get access to prime minister's questions
." Coulson was former editor of the [NI-owned] News of the World
and former communications director to Prime Minister David Cameron
. Coulson was arrested in the phone hacking inquiry. The Kutner favour as reported emerged in a broad review of extensive Rupert Murdoch
-controlled News International
's interaction with the Cameron Tory government before the scandal broke.
reality television
show Dancing on Ice
beginning on January 20, 2007. She was skating for MacMillan Cancer Care, in memory of her mother who died of breast cancer
. She also donated her appearance fee to the charity. Kay went out of the show in the fifth week following a skate-off.
.
Burley is a fan of Arsenal
, as she revealed in an interview in the London Lite
newspaper (April 30, 2009).
Burley was voted What Satellite TV magazine's "Most Desirable Woman on TV" for three consecutive years.
Her fitness
regime consists of running four times a week and doing aerobics
, maintaining her weight at around 8 stones (51 kg).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
, presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. She currently anchors the Afternoon Live
Lunchtime Live
Afternoon Live with Kay Burley, formerly Lunchtime Live, is a three hour weekday news programme in the United Kingdom on Sky News, presented by Kay Burley. It combines rolling-news coverage with reports on various "human interest" stories...
programme on the Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
station.
Early life
Kay Burley was born in 1960 in WiganWigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. She was raised as a Roman Catholic.
Her first reporting job was at the Evening Post and Chronicle in Wigan at the age of 17. She worked in local radio and TV, including Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
before joining TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
in 1985 as a reporter and occasional newsreader. From 1987, she presented TV-am's first hour, filling in for Caroline Righton
Caroline Righton
Caroline Righton , is an English television presenter and author, best known for being a presenter on the daily Breakfast Television station TV-am and being an anchor of the Channel 4 news show, The Channel Four Daily....
and covering Anne Diamond
Anne Diamond
Anne Margaret Diamond is an English radio and television presenter and journalist. She hosted Good Morning Britain for TV-am and the similarly titled Good Morning... with Anne and Nick for BBC1, both with Nick Owen as her co-presenter...
's maternity
Maternity
Maternity or motherhood is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child.It is specially related with the protection of the baby and the mother within and after the childbirth.-See also:...
leave.
Career
Burley was given her first job by Andrew NeilAndrew Neil
Andrew Ferguson Neil is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.He currently works for the BBC, presenting the live political programmes The Daily Politics and This Week...
She joined Sky Television, launching the Sky One Entertainment Channel
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
in November 1988 with her own documentary "The Satellite Revolution". She moved to the then fledgling Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
in 1988.
Among many noteworthy assignments, she fronted Sky News coverage from Sri Lanka following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
and subsequent tsunami. In 2005, she was prominent in Sky News' coverage of both the General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
and the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.
Burley is also known for presenting news coverage on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
morning on Sky News, a tradition that, as of 2010, she has upheld for the last 20 years.
Burley is also an occasional contributor to the tabloid Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
, and in the summer of 2006 appeared occasionally on Five's news bulletins.
Criticism
On February 3, 2010, Burley interviewed Peter AndrePeter André
Peter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
less than 24 hours after Katie Price
Jordan (Katie Price)
Katie Price , previously known under the pseudonym Jordan, is an English media personality, author, former glamour model, occasional singer and businesswoman....
and Alex Reid
Alex Reid
Alex Reid is a British actress, born and raised in Cornwall and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.-Acting:She portrayed the probation officer Sally in E4's Misfits and also the character of Captain Caroline Walsh in Seasons 1 and 2 of ITV's SAS drama Ultimate Force.She played...
were married in Las Vegas. Andre was booked in advance to promote his new album, when Burley questioned him about Price, Reid and his children. He was also asked to comment on an interview Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke
Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...
, the father of Price's first child Harvey, had given to Sky News in October 2009. When the questions advanced to asking whether Andre feared losing custody of his children to Reid, he became visibly upset, declared "I was not prepared for this", and asked to end the interview. Burley's treatment of Andre garnered over 900 complaints to Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
.
Later in February 2010, Burley was forced to apologise on-air for offending Catholics
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
when she joked that US Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
, who had ashes on his forehead to mark Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
, had a "large bruise" that he had picked up from "walking into a door" or from slipping on ice during his recent trip to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
.
On 8 May 2010, Burley was heckled during an interview outside the Houses of Parliament by a protester who chanted "Sack Kay Burley. Watch the BBC. Sky News is shit!" Burley, who was talking to Ben Page from Ipsos MORI, commented that "they don't like The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, they don't like us, they don't like Rupert
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
" before the interview was abruptly terminated, with the broadcast cutting to a silent, animated Sky News logo for over a minute. Burley was also criticised for an interview with David Babbs, Executive Director of 38 Degrees
38 Degrees
38 Degrees is a UK non-profit, progressive, political activism organisation that campaigns on a diverse range of issues, such as protecting the environment and tackling climate change, democratic media ownership, child poverty and political reform...
in which she repeatedly interrupted him as he talked about the possible consequences of a coalition between the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, saying, "your views are not going to sway the people that are talking behind closed doors. [...] The public have voted for a hung parliament. We have got exactly what we voted for... so you marching down past Westminster today will make no difference whatsoever. [...] Why don't you just go home? Why don't you go home and watch it on Sky News?" The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commented "Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
, it ain't." The media regulator Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
received over 700 complaints about the incident from viewers, but found no breach of its code.
On 9 September 2010 Burley interrupted Labour MP
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Chris Bryant
Chris Bryant
Christopher John Bryant is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001...
during an interview regarding developments in the News of the World phone hacking affair
News of the World phone hacking affair
The News International phone-hacking scandal is an ongoing controversy involving mainly the News of the World but also other British tabloid newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police...
with the words, "No, no, no, you can't say that, sir... No, no, no, no, I have to interrupt you, do you have evidence for that?... Pretty strong claim if you don't!" When Bryant responded that the evidence for his statement was clearly included in the parliamentary debate that Burley was actually covering in that section of the programme, she replied, "So you are in a position to have listened to the debate and read the report and as a result you are content to say that on telly.?" Bryant responded, "I have just said that. You seem to be a bit dim
Stupidity
Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, wit, or sense. It may be innate, assumed, or reactive - 'being "stupid with grief" as a defence against trauma', a state marked with 'grief and despair...making even simple daily tasks a hardship'....
, if you don't mind me saying so."
In the wake of escalated developments in the News International phone hacking scandal in July, 2011, a report by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism found that Andy Coulson
Andy Coulson
Andrew Edward Coulson is an English journalist and political strategist.Coulson was the editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking.He subsequently joined David Cameron's...
"arranged for Alexander Kutner, the son of Sky News anchor Kay Burley, to get access to prime minister's questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
." Coulson was former editor of the [NI-owned] News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
and former communications director to Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
. Coulson was arrested in the phone hacking inquiry. The Kutner favour as reported emerged in a broad review of extensive Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
-controlled News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
's interaction with the Cameron Tory government before the scandal broke.
Writing
Burley's first novel, titled First Ladies, was published on May 12, 2011. The book is an erotic romance set in the media industry, including television news.Dancing on Ice
Burley was a contestant for the second series of the ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
beginning on January 20, 2007. She was skating for MacMillan Cancer Care, in memory of her mother who died of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. She also donated her appearance fee to the charity. Kay went out of the show in the fifth week following a skate-off.
Personal life
Burley is twice divorced and has one son from a one-year marriage to Steve Kutner, a football agent of Frank LampardFrank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
.
Burley is a fan of Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, as she revealed in an interview in the London Lite
London Lite
London Lite was the trading name of a British free daily newspaper, published by Associated Newspapers , and now defunct. It was available Monday to Friday afternoons and evenings from street distributors in Central London only...
newspaper (April 30, 2009).
Burley was voted What Satellite TV magazine's "Most Desirable Woman on TV" for three consecutive years.
Her fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
regime consists of running four times a week and doing aerobics
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...
, maintaining her weight at around 8 stones (51 kg).
External links
- Bio at Sky NewsSky NewsSky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
- Kay Burley @ TV Newsroom