Who will replace Kay Burley at Sky News? Seven contenders for broadcaster's job after retirement announcement

For years, Kay Burley has provoked every emotion from viewers; from anger to apathy, love to loathing. But after more than three decades at the heart of national and international events, the Sky News host today announced she is retiring from her role at the broadcaster.

"After covering 12 separate general elections – including Sir Keir Starmer’s victory last year – I am retiring from Sky News," she told viewers. "Let politicians of every party just rejoice at that news."

She went on: "From a standing start to one of the most recognised and valued brands in global news, it’s been an honour and privilege to work with some of the best and hardest-working teams in the business. News by its very nature is often devastating and together we’ve covered so many life-changing events," she added.

"But after over a million minutes of live TV news – more than anyone else in the world – it’s time for me to indulge in some of my other passions, including my love for travel." Burley, 64, thanked viewers for their "support" over the years, calling them "awesome".

But thoughts are now turning to who could replace her on the Sky News sofas and chairs in the coming months - and decades. Here are a few names that could be in the frame to take over from Kay Burley.

Who could replace Kay Burley?

Sarah-Jane Mee: A career in local news and sport broadcasting, as well as on radio, finally ended up with Mee becoming a favourite of football fans on Sky Sports. However, in 2019, she was handed her own show on Sky News and has continued to impress with her breadth of interviews.

Beth Rigby: A former Financial Times and Times reporter, Rigby made the move to TV in 2016, where she was named a political correspondent. Under the tutelage of then-political editor Adam Bolton, she became a familiar face to politics fans up and down the country, often seen outside Number 10 Downing Street come rain or shine. She replaced Faisal Islam as Sky News' political editor in 2019. As an aside, she now hosts the Electoral Dysfunction podcast alongside Tory and Labour grandees Ruth Davidson and Harriet Harman - and her bob haircut has developed something of a cult following among viewers.

Victoria Derbyshire: If Sky wanted to look outside its own four walls - and score a recruitment victory against the old enemy - it could launch a deadline day bid for the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire. The host, who has hosted her own current affairs programme on the BBC, has become something of a stalwart of social media feeds in recent years with her persistent, intense questioning of politicians.

Naga Munchetty: Another former print journalist - for the Evening Standard and The Observer - Munchetty has been a stalwart on the BBC Breakfast sofa for many years. She is focussed and strong in political interviews, but has proved she can also handle light-hearted human interest features - as well as some serious banter - through her TV and radio roles, including on BBC Radio 5.

Emma Barnett: Perhaps an outsider for the role, former BBC Woman's Hour host Barnett has worked at both LBC and BBC Radio 5, as well as co-presenting BBC One show, Sunday Morning Live. Her personable demeanour, combined with a ferocious interviewing technique when confronting politicians of all stripes, could prove popular among Sky News viewers.

Emily Maitlis: Though now co-hosting the hugely popular Global podcast, The News Agents (alongside Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall), Maitlis is famous for her role fronting Newsnight until controversially leaving the BBC in 2021. She came to the attention of many non-political viewers in 2019, when her hour-long interview with Prince Andrew made headlines around the world and is a real heavyweight of the political scene.

Lewis Goodall: A real long-shot, Goodall - who co-hosts The News Agents with Maitlis and Sopel - is a Sky News old boy, having been a political correspondent for several years in the 2010s. He was lured back to the BBC (having started out there) for a role as policy editor at Newsnight, before - like Maitlis, who he now works alongside - leaving Aunty in 2022 under something of a cloud, amid claims of right-wing influence at the broadcaster and frustration at the Beeb's editorial policy.