Boro Babe – Kay’s
break in the media
came when she won a
competition to model
the club’s potential
new away strip in
2003.
F E AT U R E
What happened to Kay’s
Boro TV team-mates?
ALASTAIR BROWNLEE
when Kay was offered a move to
Miami to front an international
football show for BeIN Sports, an
international television network
that broadcasts throughout the
Middle East, Africa, France and
Australia, and was launching in
the US with a focus on Europe’s
top leagues.
The channel’s bosses were
looking for a female presenter who could speak both English and Spanish and
was knowledgeable on La Liga. Contact was made and the rest is history.
For the past five years Kay has been the anchor on a show that makes her
BeIN Sport’s female equivalent of Gary Lineker. “My show is pretty much Match
of the Day on both a Saturday and a Sunday,” she explains. “Not just for one
league, but for at least six – it’s an hour and 15 minutes of goals from around the
world.”
On a personal level, she also fell in love and married her fellow football
broadcaster, Italian football expert Matteo Bonetti.
Living in Miami does have its pitfalls, too, not that she’s expecting too much
sympathy from her friends back home. “They call it the American Dream and
in many ways it is because there really are so many opportunities,” she explains.
“But you get only 12 days’ holiday a year if you’ve got a full-time job, compared
to 30 in Spain, so you have to be really good with your time.
“It’s not easy to get back to Teesside now. This is my first time back in two
years. But I’m so grateful every day for what I have. I know how lucky I am to
wake up and see water, live in a warm place and have a job I love – not that it
feels like a job because it’s all I ever really wanted to do.”
Despite the distance, Kay’s Boro links remain strong. Her former Boro TV
colleague Hayley McQueen, now an established Sky Sports presenter, was
bridesmaid at her wedding, while she has nothing but fond memories of another
of her fellow Boro presenters – the late, great Alastair Brownlee, who tragically
lost his life after a short battle with bowel cancer two years ago.
“Ali was like a big brother for everyone. He was Mr Middlesbrough, and like
an encyclopaedia of everything Boro. His funeral made me miss home more
than ever. When my husband saw the amazing scenes from Ali’s funeral cortege
on TV, he said to me ‘Teesside’s really special – this isn’t normal for a town’. I told
him ‘It is in my town’.”
An ambassador for MFC Foundation, her beloved club’s own charity, she
adds: “I’m a passionate Teessider. I always want to do whatever I can for my
hometown.
“We’ve seen all the tough times this town has had and, while some of us have
been luckier than others, we’ve all got a friend or family member who’ve been
directly affected by job losses and closures. This town supported me and gave me
my break so I’ll always give back to it.”
Presenting the Ballon
d’Or awards with Dutch
star Ruud Guiilit in 2013.
Kay with Barcelona
superstar Lionel Messi.
A Real Madrid TV post-match
interview with then player
Zinedine Zidane.
‘Voice of the Boro’ Ali was probably the
best known voice on Teesside during
a 30-year period commenting on his
beloved side for Century Radio and
BBC Tees. He passed away in February
2016 after a short battle with bowel cancer.
HAYLEY MCQUEEN
Daughter of former Manchester United star and Boro
coach Gordon, Hayley worked behind the scenes at Boro
TV before switching to presenting at MUTV and is now
a Sky Sports stalwart.
BERNIE SLAVEN
After scoring 146 goals for Middlesbrough FC, Bernie
became Ali Brownlee’s Century Radio co-commentator
and presented alongside him on Boro TV. Was a popular
part of Century’s Three Legends show and now acts as a
matchday host at the Riverside.
MARK CLEMMITT
‘Clem’ also made his name fronting BBC Tees show Red
Balls on Fire and is now features reporter on BBC One’s
The Football League Show.
GARY PHILLIPSON
Kay’s co-host on Soccer Surgery, Gary has been a popular
radio host on several stations including Century, Real,
Heart and now BBC Tees.
MICHAEL WEADOCK
Boro TV reporter Michael now runs Darlington-based 3
Point Media with ex-Boro TV colleagues, editor/director
Xavier Davidson and cameraman Dan Whaler. He
reported on the 2016 Olympics for talkSPORT.
ADAM NOLAN
Ran a production company called Boro TV Ltd for
many years, producing numerous MFC DVDs and
continues to work on the club’s matchday concourse TV
productions.
CLAIRE WILSON
A qualified journalist who inspired Kay to follow a
similar route, Boro TV news presenter Claire worked for
ITV Tyne-Tees before setting up her own award-winning
production firm, Brightstar Productions.
ROSS AND TOM MARSHALL
Ross is now a much-travelled cameraman and
cinematographer, while Tom is making a big name for
himself as a director of TV series such as Chewing Gum,
Wasted and Drifters.
Kay now anchors a weekend football
show for BeIN Sports, a Miami-based
international television network.
Kay worked with Real and
Portugal star Luis Figo during
her time in Madrid.
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