Wigan native Kay Burley has announced she is retiring from Sky News after 36 years with the network.
Closing her regular morning news show on Wednesday, Burley said it had been “an honour and a privilege to work with some of the best and hardest working teams in the business” and to watch the channel go “from a standing start to one of the most recognised and valued brands in global news.”
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Burley, who began her career in BBC local radio and at Tyne Tees Television, before joining TV-am in 1985 as a reporter and occasional newsreader, joined Sky News in 1989 and has since played a part in the coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the 9/11 terror attacks, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the birth of Prince George.
In 2018, she was given her own show, The Kay Burley Show which moved into the breakfast slot a year later.
There was also controversy, such as when she was suspended from presenting her show for sixth months in December 2020 for breaching coronavirus restrictions as she celebrated her 60th birthday in London. Burley was joined in the ban by other Sky News staff including Northern correspondent Inzamam Rashid.
Burley added on Wednesday’s show: “News by its very nature is often devastating and together we’ve covered so many life-changing events.
“But we’ve also enjoyed some wonderful high notes too, haven’t we – the thrill of London winning the chance to host the 2012 Olympics; a plethora of royal weddings; jubilees and who can forget days and days and days waiting for royal babies to arrive at the Lindo Wing.
“But after more than a million minutes of live TV news – more than anyone else in the world – its time for me to indulge in some of my other passions – including my love for travel.
“So, after covering 12 separate general elections – including Sir Keir Starmer’s victory last year – I am retiring from Sky News – let politicians of every party just rejoice at that news!
“Thank you for waking up and tuning in every morning. I can’t tell you how much I have appreciated your support over the last three and a half decades: You’re awesome.”
Outside of the news, Burley appeared as a contestant on ITV’s Dancing on Ice in 2007, and in 2018 she was part of the second series of Celebrity Hunted.
David Rhodes, executive chairman of Sky News, said: “We thank Kay for her huge contribution to Sky, to the art of the interview and to British journalism. And we wish her the best of luck.”
