Sky News presenter Kay Burley has recalled her Irish father, saying that he has guided her throughout her forty-year career as a journalist.
Appearing on Friday night's Late Late Show, the 61-year-old Wigan native said her trade unionist dad, who worked in a local cardboard factory, always encouraged his children to ask questions.
"If you're not sure, make sure you keep pressing people until you get the answers you want."@KayBurley 💚#LateLate pic.twitter.com/0ZZw5LvkzT
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) May 6, 2022
"My dad was always a good debater, and he would always encourage me and my sister to have a healthy disregard for the impossible - that’s how he put it," she told host Ryan Tubridy.
"He was also the first feminist I ever met, and he’s guided me throughout my career, sadly we lost him too soon - as with my mummy - but he taught my sister and I that we should ask questions because there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Just ask the question."
She added that her father, who died at the age of 66, is still with her. "Always. He was a very funny man; he had the charm of the Irish. Everyone wanted to be in his company, a very good-looking man and very easy to get along with.
"He was a trade unionist and worked in a factory and then when I got a job as a journalist, he went back to university and studied in Oxford and became a lecturer in industrial relations."
Burley, who has worked for Sky News for 34 years and has clocked up a million minutes on air, also talked about her late mother, who passed away from breast cancer aged 59.
"I find it difficult to talk about my mum. She was 59 when she died so she was younger than I am now," she said. "She died very quickly - within six weeks of her cancer being diagnosed.
"I remember her saying to me at the time that she didn’t have the treatment she deserved, and she didn’t. It was very much a post code lottery, even now in the UK.
Really looking forward to chatting with Ryan Tubridy on @RTELateLateShow this evening. Join us? Do hope so 😎 pic.twitter.com/S3JrCVhEmt
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) May 6, 2022
"So, she said `don’t fall for that. If you’re sure, keep pressing people until you get the answers you need’."
Asked what she thought of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Burley said, "I think he’s a very charismatic man.
"I think some people would suggest he isn’t an honourable man, but he went into politics to make a difference. I think he’s found himself in a pretty tricky situation at the moment, but you should never write off Boris Johnson."
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