Henry Kelly

Born

1946-04-17

Died

2025-02-25

Birthplace

Dublin, Ireland

Biography

Patrick Henry Kelly known professionally as Henry Kelly, was an Irish radio and television broadcaster, and journalist, who was based in the United Kingdom. Kelly was born in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, and educated at Belvedere College SJ, and at University College Dublin, where he was Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society. After university he worked as a journalist and was the Belfast-based Northern Editor of The Irish Times in the 1970s. He wrote How Stormont Fell in 1972, a work still highly regarded. In 1976, he moved to London to work on Radio 4's The World Tonight and then, in a complete career change from serious journalism, in 1980 moved into television. Kelly became a household name in the UK as part of the team presenting LWT's practical-joke show Game for a Laugh in the 1980s. In June 1983 He joined TV-am and become the host of the Saturday edition of "Good Morning Britain" with Toni Arthur. He was also a regular stand in presenter on the weekday programme and could also be seen presenting "Summer Sunday" over the years. His last appearance was in 1987. From 1987 to 1996 he presented Going for Gold, a lunchtime TV quiz show on BBC1, where he developed the catchphrases "What am I?" and "Now you're playing catchup". He hosted After Dark in 1988, a programme he had also once appeared on discussing the Irish civil rights struggle, as well as appearing as himself in two episodes of dinnerladies (1998). In 1992 Kelly was one of the launch presenters of Classic FM, initially presenting the weekday mid-morning show from 9 am to 12 noon. He then moved on to the Breakfast Show, until replaced by Simon Bates in June 2003. He returned between 2006 and 2008 to present a three-hour show on Sunday mornings. He also appeared on Sky News TV, reviewing the Sunday morning newspapers. Henry is a keen golfer playing off a handicap of 4. In 1994 he won the inaugural William Roache charity classic golf invitational at Woburn. In a field which included a whole host of celebrities, including Kenny Lynch, Robert Powell, Johnny Briggs, Kevin Kennedy, Leslie Grantham and Oliver Skeet, Henry won the tournament after beating former champion jockey Pat Eddery in a 4 hole playoff.