Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is a British actor and television presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television sitcom actor, game-show panellist and television presenter of ITVlight entertainment shows such as Game for a Laugh, You Bet! and Stars in Their Eyes. In the 2000s he returned to acting, appearing in several West End productions and playing television roles.
In his early forties, he studied at the Open University where he gained a degree in psychology.[2]
Career
Kelly's first major TV appearances came in the ITV sitcom Holding the Fort (1980-82),[3] and as a panellist in the game show Punchlines (1981-84),[3] hosted by Lennie Bennett on ITV, but he became more famous as part of the original presenting team on Game for a Laugh,[2] for the same producers and network. He was the original presenter of Children's ITV (CITV) when launched in January 1983,[3] and returned to the role sporadically over the next few years. He was the subject of an edition of This Is Your Life in 1983 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in London's Trafalgar Square.[4]
For the next 14 years his work centred on light entertainment shows such as Kelly's Eye[5] (TVS sketch show 1985),[3]You Bet! (LWT/ITV) (1991–95) and, most notably, Stars in Their Eyes (Granada/ITV),[2] which he took over from Russ Abbot, who was brought in as a temporary host after original presenter Leslie Crowther suffered serious head injuries in a car crash in October 1992. Abbot had only hosted one episode, an Elvis Presley special. However, it later became apparent that Crowther would not be able to return, as he retired in 1994, and then died two years later. Therefore, Kelly became the permanent host of the show until he left in March 2004.[6] Simultaneously, he was narrator for the ITV series After They Were Famous from 1999 to 2005.[3] He continued to act occasionally, notably in the Channel 4 comedy Relative Strangers,[3] and in the theatre production of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.[3]
In November 2010, Kelly was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Chester.[9] In March 2012, he returned to mainstream television by appearing in the ITV comedy Benidorm, playing Cyril Babcock, a judge for the hotel's dance competition; he reprised the role in 2014. During the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he played the role of Frank in a production of the play Educating Rita.[3] In 2014, Kelly acted in a short drama called Cherry Cake,[10] and in 2016, he played a one-off role of a carer/grandad in the TV series Casualty.[3] In 2018, he hosted the documentary series Top of the Box.[11] In September 2019, Kelly appeared as the Toy Shop owner in the stage production of Big.[3] In May 2024, he starred in the critically acclaimed BBC drama Inside No. 9 as Harold.
Personal life
Kelly married Sarah Gray in 1975.[2] They have mostly lived separately, he in London and she in Cheshire and then West Sussex.[12]
In January 2003, Kelly was arrested by police over allegations of child sex abuse, which arose as part of Operation Arundel.[2] The following month he was cleared of all charges.[13][14] In response to his public arrest, and the later media fallout that drew public criticism, his treatment was raised as a motion in Parliament to consider "ways to protect the anonymity of those investigated until formally charged with an offence."[15] This was later debated within Parliament as part of a wider response to investigations into allegations of historical crimes.[16] In the same year, Kelly appeared on The Frank Skinner Show to discuss the host's jokes, which took aim at his alleged abuse of children.[17]