Matthew Kelly was once one of the most famous faces on TV, hosting primetime hits including Stars in Their Eyes, and Game for a Laugh – and his wife has been beside him every step of the way.
Or, at least, mostly! In fact, Matthew and his wife Sarah Gray have lived apart throughout their nearly 50-year marriage.
As the former TV presenter and actor appears in the final series of Inside No. 9, ED! looks at his career, marriage, famous son, and those painful allegations that turned his life upside down.
Who plays Harold in Inside No.9?
Actor Matthew Kelly portrays Harold in Inside No. 9 episode Boo to a Goose. It’s the first episode of series 9, which creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have said is the last ever.
In episode 1 of the final anthology, late-night passengers get stuck in a tunnel when their train breaks down. They wait for the replacement service until a nurse gets her purse stolen and tempers start to fray.
As well as Matthew Kelly, there’s a ridiculously talented cast of supporting actors. These include Happy Valley’s Siobhan Finneran, Shetland‘s Mark Bonnar, and Motherland‘s Philippa Dunne. This Country’s Charlie Cooper also appears as a homeless man on the train.
What was Matthew Kelly famous for?
Matthew Kelly has been our TV screens ever since his first appearance in 1976 – nearly 50 years ago. However, he became famous for his role in the likes of comedy shows including Madabout, and Game for a Laugh.
Between 1981 and 1983, Matthew hosted the BBC sketch show alongside Jeremy Beadle, Henry Kelly, and Sarah Kennedy – all huge names at the time. This Morning star Rustie Lee also appeared!
If you were watching TV in the 80s and 90s, you knew who Matthew Kelly was. He also hosted the gameshow Quandaries, before going on to present the primetime entertainment show you Bet! In the show, celebrities gambled on the outcome of a challenge performed by members of the public.
Matthew is perhaps most famous for presenting Stars in Their Eyes between 1993 and 2004. He also hosted spin-offs Stars in Their Eyes Kids, and The Secrets of Stars in Their Eyes.
After his arrest in 2003, he stepped away from the limelight as a TV presenter. Matthew subsequently focused on his acting career.
What has he acted in?
Alongside his presenting roles, Matthew is also a trained actor. Although he became better known for his presenting work, he has been acting since 1978. That year, he played Bogdan Kershaw in the TV series Pickersgill People.
In the 80s, he played Dick Sedgewick in Room Service, and Fitz in Holding the Fort – a role he reprised for its spin-off Relative Strangers. In the 90s, Matthew popped up in episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, and Knight School.
When his presenting career took over, Matthew didn’t act on TV again for a few years. It was only after his false arrest, that he began to concentrate on acting again.
In 2005, he played Old Mr. Turveydrop in a TV adaptation of Bleak House. The next year, he appeared in Marple, Where the Heart Is, and Cold Blood (as a serial killer!).
Other notable TV roles include Andrew Brookfield in Casualty, John in Moving On, and Cyril Babcock in Benidorm. Inside No.9 marks his first return to TV for a few years.
His film roles have included Doug in Burn Burn Burn, Brian in Showreel, and Mr Bumble in Celebrate ‘Oliver!’ Matthew’s extremely successful theatre career has included the Olivier Award-winning role of Lennie in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men at the Savoy Theatre in 2004.
How old is Matthew? Where is he from?
David Allan Kelly was born on May 09, 1950, in Davyhulme, Lancashire. He grew up in Manchester.
So he is aged 73 at the time of writing, but on the cusp of 74!
A trained theatre actor, Matthew Kelly was involved with Urmston Musical Theatre in Urmston, Lancashire, most notably playing the role of Louis in a production of The King and I in 1963.
Is Matthew Kelly married? Who is his wife?
Matthew Kelly has been married to Sarah Gray for nearly five decades. The pair married in 1975, and met at drama school.
However, Matthew has been open about their unusual living arrangement. They have mostly lived separately during their marriage – he in London, and she in Cheshire and then West Sussex.
In 2004, when Matthew Kelly received an Olivier Award, he thanked his wife in a genuinely moving acceptance speech. He called her “a remarkable woman”.
She runs a training centre for sufferers of muscular dystrophy in Cheshire.
Talking to The Telegraph about living apart, she said: “There’s no jealousy. I would much rather fade into the background a bit.I don’t want the limelight.”
She added: “I do trust Matthew and I hope he trusts me. We haven’t got a pact, but I think there has to be trust; that’s very important.”
How many children do Matthew Kelly and his wife have? Who is his son?
Matthew and Sarah have two children, who are both in their fifties. Over the years, they have lived with both their mum and dad.
Matthew Junior is an actor, while Ruth is an archaeologist and environmental consultant.
Matt – last name Rixon – is also an actor like his dad, having made his first performance as a baby. He starred as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge in the West End. He also portrayed Commander Len Drury in Endeavour.
Who is Matthew Kelly’s brother?
Matthew Kelly has two brothers – one older, and one younger.
And all three siblings went into showbusiness in one way or another. Matthew’s older brother Ian is a video engineer who works on Hollywood blockbusters. His younger brother Robin is a retired drama teacher.
What happened with Matthew Kelly?
In January 2003, police arrested Matthew Kelly over allegations of child sex abuse. The arrest was part of Operation Arundel, which resulted in the convictions of Chris Denning and Jonathan King for child sex offences in the early 2000s.
Matthew Kelly was subsequently cleared of all charges six weeks later – but the damage done to his reputation would arguably take longer to repair.
Because of his treatment, a motion was raised in Parliament to consider “ways to protect the anonymity of those investigated until formally charged with an offence”.
Matthew now prefers not to talk about the allegations and arrest. Speaking to The Times a decade later, Matthew said: “I just can’t. It’s too upsetting.”
He refers to the incident as “that stuff”. The ordeal also involved child protection officers raiding his holiday home in Sri Lanka. No evidence was found against him, although he did receive a formal caution after some cocaine was discovered at his home in Chiswick, west London.
Matthew told the broadsheet: “And it was a terrible thing to do to my family and, yeah, I don’t know how to talk about it. I don’t know how. All you have to do is put yourself in that position of losing your life, you know. You’ve lost your name, you’ve lost your life. That’s all.”
Inside No. 9 series 9 starts on Wednesday, May 08, 2024 at 10pm on BBC Two.
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