Andy Gray’s UK Commentary Return Confirmed — 12 Years After His Sky Sports Exit

Andy Gray is heading back into the UK commentary box — 12 years after his departure from British broadcasting and the Sky Sports sexism scandal that dramatically changed his career.

The former Sky Sports voice, now 70, has been handed a new role with talkSPORT and will make his return alongside Jim Proudfoot for Liverpool’s Champions League meeting with Atlético Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday, September 9.

It marks a striking new chapter for Gray, who spent years working in Qatar after leaving the UK football broadcasting scene.

The comeback also arrives after Gray and his long-time broadcasting partner Richard Keys returned to Britain and launched their Keys and Gray Unleashed podcast.

For Gray, the opportunity represents something he had openly hoped might happen again.

Gray Wanted To Hear Himself Back On Commentary

Gray recently admitted that he would like another chance to call a football match — although he wasn’t necessarily expecting a return to television.

“I’d like to think, somewhere, I could do a bit of commentary. Not television, maybe, but radio. Just to see what it feels like again.”

Keys responded by saying he believed Gray deserved the opportunity and that hearing him analyse a match again would be special.

Now, that wish has become reality.

Gray will join Jim Proudfoot at Anfield for talkSPORT’s coverage of Liverpool against Atlético Madrid, giving him a return to the UK microphone after more than a decade away. TalkSPORT has indicated that the appointment is intended to extend beyond a single cameo, with Gray set to feature on selected commentaries during the season.

From Premier League Voice To Qatar

Gray was once among the most recognisable voices in British football broadcasting.

Before becoming a prominent Sky Sports pundit and co-commentator, he enjoyed a 17-year playing career that included spells with Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton.

His broadcasting career later made him a familiar presence on Premier League coverage, particularly through his long-standing partnership with commentator Martin Tyler.

That career changed dramatically in 2011.

Gray and Keys became embroiled in a sexism controversy after comments about assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis were captured, including remarks questioning whether a female official understood the offside rule.

Gray’s Sky Sports contract was terminated, while Keys resigned. Footage also emerged concerning what was described as unacceptable and offensive behaviour involving presenter Charlotte Jackson.

The fallout effectively ended Gray’s established career in British broadcasting.

The Move To Qatar Changed Everything

Gray and Keys subsequently continued their broadcasting partnership, including work at talkSPORT and Gray’s brief involvement with BT Sport’s FA Cup coverage.

They then moved to Qatar in 2013 to work for beIN SPORTS, where they became familiar figures covering Premier League and European football.

Gray remained with the broadcaster until earlier this year.

After more than a decade working abroad, the pair returned to the UK and began a new chapter through their podcast.

Now Gray is taking another significant step back into British football coverage.

His first assignment is particularly high-profile: Liverpool against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield.

Gray Has Spoken Openly About His Regret

The return comes with Gray having previously reflected on the events that ended his Sky Sports career.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said he could not imagine making the same comments today and acknowledged the seriousness of what he had said.

He also recalled the intense media scrutiny that followed, describing how reporters gathered outside his home for weeks.

The experience, by his own account, had a profound effect on him.

In a 2022 interview with Piers Morgan, Gray revealed that the backlash left him in an extremely dark mental state and that he came close to taking his own life. He credited his wife Rachel with helping him through that period.

Gray has since said that he has moved beyond that experience.

A Very Different Return

That history inevitably gives his return to UK commentary an added dimension.

This is not simply a familiar football voice appearing on the radio again. It is Gray returning to the broadcasting environment more than a decade after the controversy that effectively forced him away from it.

And unlike his previous era at Sky Sports, his first assignment back will be on radio, precisely the format he had identified as the one he would most like to try again.

There is also a sense of continuity.

Gray will be returning alongside a broadcaster who has been part of some of the biggest chapters of his career, while simultaneously building a new platform through the podcast they launched together.

Liverpool And Atlético Madrid Provide The Backdrop

The timing could hardly be more fitting for a commentator whose career was built around major football occasions.

Gray’s first confirmed assignment is Liverpool vs Atlético Madrid at Anfield, with Jim Proudfoot alongside him for talkSPORT’s Champions League coverage.

For supporters familiar with Gray’s voice from the Sky Sports era, it will be a noticeable return.

For Gray himself, however, it represents something more personal: the opportunity to do the job he once thought he might never do in Britain again.

After years away, the microphone is waiting.

And this time, Andy Gray is walking back towards it.