Matthew Kelly

Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and television presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television sitcom actor, game-show panellist and television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as Game for a Laugh, You Bet! and Stars in Their Eyes. In the 2000s he returned to acting, appearing in several West End productions and playing television roles.

Early life and education Kelly was involved with Urmston Musical Theatre in Urmston, Lancashire, most notably playing the role of Louis in a production of The King and I in 1963. Kelly appeared regularly at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre.

He is a former member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party.

In his early forties, he studied at the Open University where he gained a degree in psychology.

For the next 14 years his work centred on light entertainment shows such as Kelly's Eye (TVS sketch show 1985), Simultaneously, he was narrator for the ITV series After They Were Famous from 1999 to 2005. then as George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Garrick Theatre, Lichfield,

In November 2010, Kelly was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Chester. In March 2012, he returned to mainstream television by appearing in the ITV comedy Benidorm, playing Cyril Babcock, a judge for the hotel's dance competition; he reprised the role in 2014. During the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he played the role of Frank in a production of the play Educating Rita. and in 2016, he played a one-off role of a carer/grandad in the TV series Casualty. In September 2019, Kelly appeared as the Toy Shop owner in the stage production of Big. In May 2024, he appeared as Harold in the Inside No. 9 episode "Boo to a Goose". In 2025, Kelly appeared as King Brunwin/Brian in the "Dragon Castle" episode of Not Going Out.

In 2026 he played Estragon in Waiting for Godot at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton.

Selected Filmography

Personal life Kelly married Sarah Gray in 1975.

In January 2003, Kelly was arrested by police over allegations of child sex abuse, which arose as part of Operation Arundel. In response to his public arrest, and the later media fallout that drew public criticism, his treatment was raised as a motion in Parliament to consider "ways to protect the anonymity of those investigated until formally charged with an offence." This was later debated within Parliament as part of a wider response to investigations into allegations of historical crimes. In the same year, Kelly appeared on The Frank Skinner Show to discuss the host's jokes, which took aim at his alleged abuse of children.