Kay Burley has broken her silence on reports that the serious broadcaster could be leaving her Sky News breakfast show for the first time in five years.
The 64-year-old first joined the news channel 35 years ago and has since become one of the station’s most high-profile news anchors.
The TV presenter moved to the breakfast slot in October 2019, taking over from Sunrise presenter Sarah Jane Mee.
The showpiece show, titled Breakfast with Kay Varley, relaunched this year in a more conversational format, featuring co-hosts including former BBC stars Gareth Barlow and Marli Aurora.
According to Deadline, the veteran journalist is reportedly set to leave the breakfast show as early as this week.
But Kay Burley told MailOnline last night that the rumors were not true.
She said, “I don’t know where that came from, but neither is true.” We are closed on the 19th [as] We will be back on January 16th as planned. ”
Asked about reports in the trade press that she would be leaving the breakfast show, she added: “I don’t know about it unless they tell me something new.”
She said, “I’m up at 3:30 in the morning…I went to Seychelles and I’m back.”
Sky News has also been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
Kay Burley is to leave Sky News’ 6am-10am breakfast show for the first time in five years, according to reports.
Kay Varley (pictured right) was one of the original presenters when Rupert Murdoch launched the channel in 1989.
Pictured: Kay Varley (right) with Sir Trevor Phillips and Beth Rigby, Sky News’ election night coverage
Kay Burley (pictured left) and colleague Beth Rigby (right) outside Downing Street, 2019
A Sky source told Deadline: “It would be a big deal if she left.” Kay was one of the channel’s original presenters when it was launched by Rupert Murdoch in 1989.
Prior to hosting Breakfast, she anchored the late afternoon show and is usually the go-to broadcaster to cover major news events for the channel.
Kay has been at the top of some of the biggest stories over the past 40 years, including the death of Princess Diana and the September 11 attacks.
In 2020, Kay was taken off air for six months after it was revealed that she had breached coronavirus regulations by hosting a birthday party in central London.
Kay has recently faced a number of personal challenges, including her sister being diagnosed with blood cancer and an accident that left her with a black eye and “bloody” bruises all over her face.
Kay has been candid about her health in the past, but in 2021 she revealed that dealing with menopause while working in TV was “difficult”, adding that hot flashes “make me feel like after a shower”. ‘ he claimed.
A journalist, she has suffered from cancer for most of her adult life and lost her mother, Cath, to cancer in 1993. Her father also died at the age of 66 from a heart attack.
She previously told MailOnline that she gets an ultrasound, MRI scan and mammogram every year.
Kay has been at the top of some of the biggest stories over the past 40 years, including the death of Princess Diana and the September 11 attacks.
There are rumors that she might quit the news channel completely, but nothing has been confirmed. Pictured: Kay Burley speaking with former Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan
Kay Burley (right) reports from Michaels in Wyre, Lancashire during the search for Nicola Brie in 2023
Kay Burley (right) reports from outside 10 Downing Street in London on October 18, 2022, with the day’s newspaper in hand.
“I worry about myself, considering I was young when my parents died. I’m a worrier by nature,” she said.
“There’s a long history of cancer in my family, and I’m in the high-risk category compared to the national average. I like to make sure everything is as it should be. I have an ultrasound, MRI scan, and mammogram once a year.
“They’re not fun procedures, but I’d rather be one of those concerned because these precautions give you the chance of early infection.”
“As a journalist, it’s my nature to want to know all the facts. I don’t want to die in ignorance.”
Kay has an adult son named Alexander with ex-husband Steve Cantor.
As well as being the face of Sky News, she published her debut novel First Ladies in 2011, followed by her second book Betrayal in 2012.
Born in 1960, Kay grew up in Beech Hill, Wigan, the daughter of working-class parents.
She began her career in journalism at the age of 17, working for the Wigan Evening Post and Chronicle.
Kay then worked for BBC Local Radio and Tyne Tees Television before joining TV-am in 1985 as a reporter and occasional newsreader.
She was scouted by Andrew Neil and joined Sky TV in 1988, making her own documentary The Satellite Revolution.
