Vernon Kay

Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English broadcaster and former model. He presented Channel 4's T4 (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV and BBC, including All Star Family Fortunes (2006–2015), Just the Two of Us (2006–2007), Beat the Star (2008–2009), The Whole 19 Yards, Splash! (2013–2014), and 1000 Heartbeats (2015–2016).

Kay presented his own BBC Radio 1 show between 2004 and 2012, and presented his own show on Radio X between 2015 and 2017. Since the start of the 2018–2019 season, he has been the main presenter for the live coverage of Formula E for English speaking territories/platforms around the world. In 2023, Kay was announced as the new mid-morning host on BBC Radio 2 from May 2023, taking over the slot from Ken Bruce.

In 2020, Kay appeared on the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing in third place.

Early life Vernon Charles Kay was born on 28 April 1974 and brought up in Horwich, the elder son of Norman, a lorry driver, and Gladys; he has a younger brother, Stephen, a primary school teacher. He attended St Joseph's RC High School in Horwich, near Bolton and then spent two years at St John Rigby College, Orrell. Aged 14, Kay had his first job, putting stickers on imported bananas at a factory, and upon leaving St John Rigby College, he had a job cleaning schools and covering for school caretakers across the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. He then graduated in environmental science at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Career Modelling In 1996, while working at his cousin's DIY shop, Kay attended the BBC Clothes Show Live where he was scouted by a modelling agency. In 2007, he presented Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon, after replacing Ant & Dec, who hosted the first series.

From 2008 until 2009, Kay presented two series of Beat the Star, a programme for ITV. The first series averaged 4.05 million viewers and the second averaged 3.46 million.

On 17 April 2010, Kay began co-presenting a game show for ITV called The Whole 19 Yards with Caroline Flack which lasted for eight episodes and was made at Pinewood Studios. The series averaged 4.1 million viewers. In 2010, Kay was the co-host of Skating with the Stars, a six-part series which was broadcast in the United States.

In 2011, Kay was originally going to present ITV game show Sing If You Can with Stacey Solomon but, after filming the pilot episode, he felt that it would be better hosted by a comedian, and was replaced by Keith Lemon.

In December 2011, Kay presented the Christmas Channel 4 show Home For the Holidays. In the summer of 2012, Kay presented ITV three episode mini-series Let's Get Gold, however the show received poor viewing figures and was cancelled.

In 2013 and 2014, Kay, Gabby Logan and Tom Daley co-presented the ITV diving show Splash! The programme was cancelled after two series.

In 2013, after Channel 4 regained the NFL rights from the BBC, Kay was announced as a presenter of The American Football Show, airing on Saturday mornings.

Since 2014, Kay has guest presented five episodes of The One Show. In 2015, Kay began presenting daytime quiz show, 1000 Heartbeats for ITV. The show returned for a second run in November 2015. In 2016, Kay presented Drive, a five-part entertainment show for ITV. He made regular appearances in the second series of The Keith Lemon Sketch Show on ITV2.

In July 2017, Kay co-presented The Hero Challenge with Kirsty Gallacher on Sky Sports.

Kay hosted the non-broadcast pilot for a revival of Play Your Cards Right, a game show formerly hosted by Bruce Forsyth, but was not commissioned for a series. In September 2015, he hosted a pilot for a new ITV game show Home Win, made at Fountain Studios in Wembley.

In November 2017, it was announced that Kay would host Channel 5's coverage of the 2017–18 Formula E motor racing season. He co-presented the FIA's coverage of the 2018–19 season.

In November 2020, it was announced that Kay would be taking part in the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. Kay reached the final and finished in third place on 4 December 2020.

It was announced in March 2021 that Kay would host the British version of new gameshow Game of Talents. In March 2022, Kay was a last-minute replacement for Joel Dommett as co-host of Red Nose Day's The Great Comic Relief Prizeathon.

Radio In January 2004, Kay joined BBC Radio 1 and presented an entertainment show every Sunday. In April 2004, he was given the 10 am - 1 pm weekend slot, which was previously hosted by Colin Murray and Edith Bowman and previously broadcast on both Saturdays and Sundays on the popular radio network. From October 2007 Dick and Dom took over Sunday mornings; Kay's show then ran between 10am to 1pm on Saturday. In 2008, he was one of a team of DJs who filled in for Edith Bowman while she was on maternity leave, along with Fearne Cotton and Nihal.

On 11 February 2009, it was announced that Kay would fill in for Chris Moyles while he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, an act he repeated on 13 July 2009 when Moyles took a day off. He also filled-in for Pete Tong's Essential Selection on Radio 1 on 10 April 2008. That same year, Kay filled in again for Chris Moyles from 10 August to 15 August when he was on holiday. From 30 November 2009 Kay, again, covered for Chris Moyles on breakfast for a whole week as Moyles and Aled Haydn Jones were away in Uganda handing out malaria nets and seeing how the money raised from the Mount Kilimanjaro climb for Comic Relief was being spent.

On 9 November 2012, it was announced that Kay would leave BBC Radio 1 to spend more time with his family. He presented his final show on 22 December and was replaced by Matt Edmondson.

Three years after his departure from Radio 1, Kay returned to radio on the newly launched Radio X network. In September 2015, Kay began presenting the weekday morning show from 10am to 1pm. He left the station on Friday 17 March 2017.

Kay returned to BBC Radio after nine years away, to cover for Rylan Clark on his BBC Radio 2 show Rylan On Saturday on 6 and 13 February 2021 and again on the 12 and 26 June as well as 3 July. He stood in for Steve Wright on Steve Wright in the Afternoon during the week of the 24–28 May 2021. Kay stood in for Dermot O'Leary on 21 August 2021. He was scheduled to fill in for Wright again from 26 August to 1 September 2021 but only presented on the 26 and 27 August before he began isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Gethin Jones. He sat in again from 13 to 15 October 2021 and from 25 November - 1 December 2021 whilst Wright had an illness. From March 2022, Kay became the regular cover for Zoe Ball on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.

In August 2022 Kay started broadcasting a weekly show on BBC Radio 2 Vernon Kay's Dance Sounds of the 90s, featuring "dance, electronica, techno, trance and drum n' bass hits from the 90s". In 2024, Kay took the show on tour, DJing for audiences in a number of UK venues.

On 24 February 2023, Kay was announced as the new host of BBC Radio 2's mid-morning show from May, replacing Ken Bruce. He began his show on 15 May 2023.

Film Kay has made a number of cameos, appearing in Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Keith Lemon: The Film (2012). He also made an uncredited appearance as a feasting hall guest in Hercules (2014).

Personal life On 12 September 2003, Kay married Tess Daly at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Horwich, near Bolton. Together, they have two daughters, born in 2004 and 2009, and lived in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. In May 2026, Kay and Daly announced on Instagram that they had separated.

In 2010, Kay was forced to apologise to his wife after it was revealed in the British press that he had been sending sexually explicit text and social media messages to model Rhian Sugden every day for four months. He subsequently admitted to sending similar messages to "four or five" other women at the same time.

Kay received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton on 9 July 2009 for services to entertainment.

Kay supports his hometown's football club Bolton Wanderers. In 2011, he signed for the London Warriors, for whom he plays in the BAFANL Premier South division as a defensive back.

Filmography Television

Guest appearances

It's Only TV...but I Like It (2002) Shooting Stars (2002) Bo' Selecta! (2003) Davina (2006) James Corden's World Cup Live (2010) Celebrity Juice (2011, 2013, 2015) Chris Moyles' Quiz Night (2011) 8 Out of 10 Cats (2011, 2012, 2013) Alan Carr: Chatty Man (2011) Would I Lie to You? (2013) That Puppet Game Show (2013) Room 101 (2014) Through the Keyhole (2014, 2015) Celebrity Squares (2014) Sunday Brunch (2015) Go 8 Bit (2017) How to Spend it Well at Christmas with Phillip Schofield (2017) Celebrity Catchphrase (2023)

Radio

Film Year Title Role 2012 Keith Lemon: The Film Himself 2014 Hercules Feasting hall guest (uncredited)