Broadcaster Kay Burley has thanked well-wishers for their “support and kind words” after she announced her retirement from Sky News.
Burley revealed she was leaving the channel after 36 years at the end of her breakfast programme on Wednesday, which was her last day on air with the broadcaster.
The veteran journalist, 64, shared photos and videos from her leaving party to Instagram on Thursday which featured a cake with an image on it of her alongside Sky bosses when the news channel was launched in 1989.
Alongside a post, Burley wrote: “What a day. Surrounded by some of my most treasured people and fuelled by exquisite canapes by Oscars chef @elliottgrover.
“It’s been a thing. Off to my beloved Africa next week and then on to the next chapter.
“Thanks for all your support and kind words everyone.”
In a video clip, the presenter could be seen trying to cut her face out of her leaving cake.
However, she realised she was going to cut the head of media mogul Rupert Murdoch in the process, but managed to cut around him.
Burley was one of the original presenters who helped launch Sky News in 1989 and she has presented the morning slot since 2019.
Following her retirement announcement, a host of fellow journalists paid tribute to her career and thanked her for “smashing the ceilings”.
Sky News political editor Beth Rigby hailed her as a “trailblazer and inspiration to a whole generation of women” while BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire said Burley has “blazed an absolute trail” for female journalists.
Resharing the post by Derbyshire, Burley wrote: “Thanks love. Carry the torch xx”
Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge also said she had “learned so much” from Burley, adding: “Thanks for smashing the ceilings.”
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid said that Burley is “a fierce advocate for viewers, a powerful interviewer and a supporter of women in television”.
Thanks love. Carry the torch xx https://t.co/3eoKZY29AT
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) February 5, 2025
In response to this, Burley said: “Thank you my dear friend. Women who support other women are a special breed.”
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.
