Kay Burley says women who support women are "special breed” as she leaves Sky News after 36 years
She honours the power of "Women supporting women"
Broadcaster Kay Burley has reflected on her career at Sky News and said she benefitted from “women supporting other women”.
Burley announced she was retiring from the channel, after 36 years, at the end of her breakfast programme on Wednesday, which was her last day on air with the broadcaster.
Responding to social media posts praising her work, Burley told BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire and fellow Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge to “carry the torch”.
Ridge had said in a post to X: “I’ve learned so much from you Kay – thanks for smashing the ceilings.”
In response to a separate post praising Burley’s success, the veteran journalist said: “Women supporting other women is what I have benefitted from all my working life.”
The 64-year-old was one of the original presenters who helped launch Sky News in 1989, and she has presented the morning slot since 2019.
Closing her show, she said: “After over a million minutes of live TV news, more than anyone else in the world, it’s 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.
“I will post more on my social media and hope to see you around. Please keep in touch.”
Her last day also coincided with Sky News’s 36th birthday and she used her final moments to pay tribute to how it had progressed from a “standing start to one of the most recognised and valued brands in global news”.
She added: “It’s been an honour and privilege to work with some of the best and hardest working teams in the business.
“News by its very nature is often devastating and together we’ve covered so many life-changing events: from the tragic death of Diana; the shocking terror attack of 9/11; the Asian tsunami; the Concorde air disaster.
“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 of waiting for royal babies to arrive at the Lindo Wing.”
Raised in Wigan, Lancashire, Burley took her first steps into journalism reporting for the Wigan Evening Post and Chronicle aged 17.
She later secured a job with the BBC on its local radio stations and then Tyne Tees Television, before joining the now defunct TV-am in 1985 as a reporter and occasional newsreader.
Burley was recruited for the fledgling Sky News in 1989 as one of its founding presenters.
In September 2018, the broadcaster was given her own show on Sky News as part of a major shake-up at the channel and a year later she moved to the breakfast time slot.
During the coronavirus pandemic, she regularly grilled politicians about lockdown rules and questioned then Cabinet minister Michael Gove on the controversy over former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle in May 2020.
But in December 2020, Burley was suspended from her role for six months after an internal review found she broke Covid-19 rules during celebrations for her 60th birthday.
Burley later apologised for her actions, describing herself as an “idiot” and agreeing that she was “appropriately sanctioned” by the channel.
Meanwhile, in October 2023, Sky News conceded that on-air remarks by Burley about the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Dr Husam Zomlot, “gave a potentially misleading representation” of his views after 1,537 complaints were made to the media watchdog Ofcom about the segment.
In a note shared with staff on Wednesday, Sky News executive chairman David Rhodes thanked Burley for her “huge contribution to Sky, to the art of the interview and to British journalism”, and wished her “the best of luck”.
He added: “With millions of minutes presenting live rolling news, Kay’s legacy in television journalism is unmatched, as is her commitment to Sky’s legacy.
“I’m sure some MPs in Westminster will sleep easy knowing they won’t face her indomitable questioning in the mornings.
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“Kay confirmed that today was her final broadcast with Sky News. Of course, Breakfast continues – with the other current presenters and with our Friday-Sunday team.”
Sky News political editor Beth Rigby hailed Burley as a “trailblazer and inspiration to a whole generation of women”, while former Sky News journalist Adam Boulton said “there are no other women of her background who have had such an impact on British news and current affairs”.
Former BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister, who secured the Newsnight interview with the Duke of York, said she was “devastated” to hear Burley was retiring, describing her as a “total inspiration” to her as a single parent and woman from a different background.
John Simpson, presenter of BBC News’ Unspun World, said he was “very sorry the excellent Kay Burley won’t be gracing Sky News from now on”.
The US embassy in London also wished Burley well for her future and called her grilling of their diplomats a “rite of passage”.
BBC journalist Derbyshire said Burley has “blazed an absolute trail” for female journalists.
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid added that Burley is “a fierce advocate for viewers, a powerful interviewer and a supporter of women in television”.
In response to this, Burley said: “Thank you my dear friend. Women who support other women are a special breed.”
I love this message. What a career Kay has had