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Best of the Spectator

Women With Balls: Kay Burley, from the archives

Best of the Spectator

The Spectator

News Commentary, News, Daily News, Society & Culture

4.4785 Ratings

🗓️ 7 February 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kay Burley announced her retirement from Sky News this week, after 36 years, having presented more than a million minutes of live television news – more than any other presenter in the world.

To mark the occasion, here’s a special edition of Women With Balls – from the archives – when Kay Burley joined Katy Balls in 2019 to talk about how she ‘knocked the rough edges’ off her accent, her love of Jane Fonda, and why the BBC couldn’t afford her these days.

Transcript

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0:00.0

The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis and unrivaled books and

0:05.0

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0:11.6

along with a free £20 £10,000 or waitrose voucher. Go to spectator.com.com.com.

0:18.0

Hello and welcome to a special archive edition of Women with Balls.

0:21.8

This week, Kay Burley announced that she was retiring from Sky News after 36 years.

0:27.6

Kay Burley was one of the first guests when we launched this podcast, so he thought it was a good

0:31.6

time to revisit that interview.

0:33.7

After over a million minutes of live TV news, more than anyone else in the world,

0:37.9

it's time for me to indulge in some of my other passions, including my love for travel.

0:42.9

So, after covering 12 separate general elections, including Sequeer Stalmers' victory last year,

0:48.9

and retiring from Sky News, let politicians of every party just rejoice at that news.

0:55.0

Thank you.

0:56.0

Hello and welcome to Women of Balls, where I, Katie Balls, speak to today's trailblazers.

1:04.0

Today I'm delighted to be joined by Kay Burley. Burley is a Sky News founder member, host of the self-titled

1:10.0

K Burley Show, and currently holds

1:12.3

the record for hosting more hours of live television than any other news presenter. In her

1:17.1

broadcast career, Burley has earned a reputation for her at times tough interviewing style. Coming

1:22.8

up at a time when there were a few female faces on the news, Labour's Harriet Harmon has heralded Burley's rise as a source of jubilation for feminists,

1:31.1

describing her career path as totally groundbreaking. So Kay, thank you very much for joining us today.

1:36.2

Thank you. I thought to start, we could rewind and go back to how you got to where you are really. And, I mean, you grew up in Wigan.

1:44.3

Your parents worked in a cardboard box factory.

1:47.6

And you left school at 17 to work at your local newspaper.

...

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