Andy Gray returns to UK commentary on talkSPORT, 14 years after Sky Sports sexism sacking

Andy Gray will return to UK commentary for the first time in over a decade when he co-commentates on Liverpool’s Champions League group-stage match against Atlético Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday, partnering Jim Proudfoot on talkSPORT. The booking ends a 14-year absence from British broadcasting that began when Gray and his long-time colleague Richard Keys were sacked by Sky Sports in January 2011.

The pair lost their positions after a live microphone captured them making derogatory comments about assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis, questioning whether women understood the offside rule. Keys and Gray subsequently relocated to Doha, where they spent several years working for beIN SPORTS in Qatar. Both have now returned to the UK and recently launched a podcast together.

Gray, 70, had signalled his desire to return to the airwaves in a recent interview with the Daily Mail. “I’d like to think, somewhere, I could do a bit of commentary,” he said. “Not television, maybe, but radio. Just to see what it feels like again. I would like that.” Keys was supportive: “I would be happy for you if that happened. I think you deserve it. To hear him back, analysing a football match, that would be special. He’s the best I’ve ever known.”

In the same interview, Gray reflected on the original incident. “I can’t imagine saying today what I said then, I just can’t,” he told the Daily Mail. “I think we were two of the first people ever cancelled. I had 20 reporters outside my house for weeks.”

Gray had previously spoken to Piers Morgan in 2022 about the severity of the personal toll, revealing he had contemplated suicide during the backlash. “I suddenly found myself in a really dark place,” he said. “My head was gone. If it hadn’t been for my wife, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Before his broadcasting career, Gray played for Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton across a 17-year playing career. His talkSPORT appearance will be his first confirmed UK commentary role since a brief stint on the FA Cup with BT Sport more than a decade ago.