Kelly Cates finally made her Match of the Day debut on Saturday night – and wasted no time poking fun at the fact she was the last of Gary Lineker’s three successors to get a turn in the hot seat.
Cates, along with Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan, was confirmed by the BBC over the summer as part of a new rotating team of presenters following Lineker’s departure at the end of last season after 26 years in charge.
But while Chapman hosted the opening show of the Premier League campaign last weekend and Logan fronted Match of the Day 2 the following evening, Cates had to wait until the third highlights programme of the season to take her place in the studio.
The 49-year-old Sky Sports regular acknowledged that wait in her first link, smiling warmly as she said: ‘Six games on tonight’s Match of the Day, featuring two of last season’s top three and all of the promoted sides. A new face in the studio as well, hello, and I’ve already been told about the significance of the running order… presumably that’s why I’m third.’
Cates was joined by Alan Shearer and Micah Richards for analysis of Saturday’s action and looked comfortable in the chair once occupied by Lineker for more than a quarter of a century.
In the build-up to her debut, she stressed that she would not attempt to mimic the former England striker’s style. ‘I don’t need another thing to think about. I don’t need to be sitting there thinking: “What would Gary do?”‘ she said earlier this month.
Football presenter Kelly Cates made her debut on BBC Match of the Day on Saturday evening
Cates said ‘hello’ to her new viewers and cracked a joke about her place in the ‘running order’
BBC Match of the Day now has three rotating hosts: Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan
Cates impressed viewers with the way she hosted the iconic BBC show on debut.
One fan tweeted: ‘Kelly Cates. Match of the Day. Effortless. For those unaccustomed, enjoy. Still wild to me that this is a new experience for some but my research says so.’
Another added: ‘Kelly Cates is a great choice for Match of the Day to be fair.’
But some fans were less complimentary about her choice of outfit.
One comment read: ‘It’s great to see Kelly Cates as the host of the programme. To be fair though, I think the jacket and trousers combo she is wearing are probably two sizes too big for her.’
A similar message from another viewer quipped: ‘Is Kelly Cates wearing a hand-me-down suit from David Byrne?’