Exclusive:
Kelly Cates, daughter of Liverpool icon Sir Kenny Dalglish, will succeed Gary Lineker as one of three new permanent hosts of BBC Match of the Day next season
Football host Kelly Cates is easily strong enough to tackle one of the most high-profile jobs in telly, after discovering a love of pumping iron.
The daughter of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish is hotly tipped to take over from Gary Lineker as a Match of the Day presenter next season. Kelly, 49, said: “I’ve read all this stuff about middle-aged women, weight bearing and strengthening exercises.
“For my muscles and my bones, I’m keeping that up.
“I do that about three times a week and I like something that I can see the progress in. I get that by doing the weights but I don’t really see my weight – whether I’m bigger or smaller – as being that important to me.
“It’s a thing that I obviously care enough to do something about but it’s not something I think about very much.”
Kelly, who split from TV producer husband Tom Cates in 2021, said she is in a happy place right now and is not bothered about dating anyone. The mum-of-two said: “I’m not massively looking but I’m not massively against it either. I’m sort of neutral about it.
“My life is in a really nice place, so it needs to be something that fits well, adds to my life, and makes it nicer.”
Glasgow-born Kelly is expected to leave Sky Sports to host Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 on the BBC. Duties will reportedly be split between Kelly, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.
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