Kay Burley will be leaving Sky News’ Breakfast Show, according to reports.
The 64-year-old first joined the fledgling news channel 35 years ago and has since gone on to become one of the UK’s most well-recognised and high-profile news anchors.
Burley was involved in the reporting of the death of Princess Diana in 1997, and broke news of the 9/11 attacks on New York in 2001 that won the channel its first Bafta. Other royal reporting includes her coverage of the wedding of King Charles and Camilla, and the birth of Prince George, the son of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton.
She has been presenting Breakfast with Kay during the 6am - 10am morning slot since October 2019. She is expected to step down from her role with an announcement expected as early as this week, according to Deadline.
The Independent has contacted Sky News and Kay Burley for comment.
In recent times Burley has faced a number of personal challenges, including her sister being diagnosed with cancer, and an accident that left her “covered in blood” last year. The broadcaster, who has been open about her health issues including a breast cancer scare, said she was told she “could have died had circumstances been slightly different”.
Burley said she now takes care to ensure she has a more considered wake-up routine.
“Sitting up, taking a breath and putting all the lights on is very, very important, because last year I jumped out of bed and, next thing, I woke up covered in blood on the bathroom floor,” she told The Times.
“I take medicine to lower my blood pressure and the menopause lowers it further still. Who knew? I got out of bed too quickly and just passed out in the shower.”
The straight-talking presenter’s career has not been without controversy. In 2008, she was criticised for asking the former girlfriend of serial killer Steve Wright if she thought he would have killed had their sex life been better. The channel was forced to say that comments Burley made about Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot gave a “potentially misleading representation of his views”. Zomlot thanked Sky for the correction.
In addition to other blunders, including commenting that David Cameron had “put on weight” during a live broadcast, she was taken off air in 2020 for celebrating her 60th birthday in breach of Covid restrictions.
“I want to apologise to you all for an error of judgement,” she said at the time. “I was enjoying my 60th birthday at a Covid compliant restaurant. I am embarrassed to say that later in the evening I inadvertently broke the rules.
“I had been waiting for a taxi at 11pm to get home. Desperate for the loo I briefly popped into another restaurant to spend a penny. I can only apologise.”
