Andy Gray and Richard Key agree cut-price deals at TalkSport

Tarnished football presenters Andy Gray and Richard Keys have been handed a career lifeline at TalkSport, the radio station that bills itself as the place “for men who like to talk sport”.

It’s understood, that the pair have signed a deal to present a new daily radio show for which they  will collect around £1,000 each per three hour radio show which works out at around £200,000 per year for a 40 week commitment.  The deal is far removed from their mega-deals at Sky, where Gary earned £1.7million a year and Keys £500,000.

The former Sky Sport duo’s tenure ended after they made controversial off-air remarks at about female assistant referee Sian Massey. The comments prompted a row over sexism which resulted in Gray being sacked and Keys’ resigned.

• photo by James Cridland

TalkSport’s may face a plenty of criticism fir hiring the disgraced pair so soon after the sexism row. A fortnight ago, Keys used an hour-long interview on TalkSport ago to deliver an apology that seemed to backfire and led to his resignation hours after Gray was sacked.

It isn’t the first time the radio station courted controversy, a number of its presenters have landed in hot water in the past for contentious remarks. Alan Brazil was once censured by Ofcom for referring to Japan as “the Nips” during the 2006 World Cup; while Jon Gaunt was sacked for calling a local politician a Nazi; and to Adrian Durham who argued that Arsenal’s Russian forward Andrey Arshavin should be booed and “not welcomed back into England” after Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

The announcement that Gray’s and Keys’ will take over the 10am-1pm Monday to Friday show coincided with TalkSport revealing that morning show host Mike Parry had resigned.

Moz Dee, the TalkSport programme director, said that while some of the stations broadcasters are encouraged to offer opinions on current affairs, Keys and Gray will stick strictly to sport.

He said: “The events of the last couple of weeks have been a lesson and have changed them. One thing that hasn’t changed is that they are two iconic broadcasters. I think it’s a sensational coup.”

Keys said: “This is the start of something new and exciting for Andy and me. We are delighted to be joining the TalkSport family and we can’t wait to get going.”

Guest post by Aidan Donovan a copywriter for  a number of vans lease companies.