Des Lynam has urged the BBC to make Kelly Cates the sole presenter of Match of the Day, saying the broadcaster should drop the other two hosts from the rotating lineup.
Writing in his Telegraph column, the 84-year-old, who presented the show for 11 years before Gary Lineker, said the BBC's decision to replace Lineker with three presenters was a mistake. Kelly Cates, Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman have been on a regular rotation since the start of the 2025/26 season.
Lynam's call for one presenter
Lynam said he wanted Cates to become the sole presenter and the face of the programme, exclusive to the BBC. He said: “I want to be clear, none of what you are going to read from here is a criticism of Gabby Logan or Mark Chapman, both of whom are excellent broadcasters and have had long, successful careers. Chapman is very talented and unflappable, as comfortable on radio as he is on TV.”
He added: “My wish, however, would be to see Kelly Cates become the sole presenter and have her as the face of the programme, exclusive to the BBC. It used to be said the audience wanted a man in front of the camera, but I do not go along with that now – times have changed. Kelly is 'the man for the job', so to speak!”
Viewers like consistency
Lynam said the reason Logan and Chapman should be axed is that viewers are fans of consistency. He said: “Viewers like constants. You cannot go back to how it was when Alan Hansen was on every week with me, but they need a small stable, not 12. Ian Wright was a huge loss, when he did his first show with me a thousand years ago, while he was still playing, he said he had 'arrived at his Graceland'.”
He continued: “What makes Wrighty special is his communication and authenticity. If he believes in something, he says it and he is an honourable man… It means something for them to have the responsibility and one thing executives should never lose sight of is that Match of the Day still retains an important place in society. It does not matter whether the goals are available online, people enjoy the programme.”
The solution
Concluding, Lynam said: “The solution is one presenter – that would be Kelly Cates. They have the iconic theme tune. They have the title that reverberates far and wide, and they have the history. Long live the institution.”
