Match of the Day host Mark Chapman extended his World Cup trip for a secret date with co-presenter Kelly Cates in New York. Their Big Apple tryst comes after we revealed last week the pair have been seeing each other romantically. Chapman claimed on a podcast he was leaving the US after hosting BBC1’s coverage of the England and Argentina semi in Atlanta on July 15. But instead of flying directly back to the UK, he travelled to New York to meet Kelly, who was there for BBC Radio Five Live’s coverage of the final on July 19. An industry source said Chapman told people he had a business meeting in New York before returning to the UK, but also met with Kelly one evening for a date. It was the perfect place to conduct their budding romance. Kelly, daughter of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, had also been in Atlanta for the England semi-final. Chapman told Gabby Logan on the Sports Agents podcast that he was not working for the final and was returning to the UK for The Open golf at Royal Birkdale. Sources said the broadcaster did not arrive in the UK before July 18, and attended the golf for the climax the following day. He also always planned to fly back to the UK via New York and did not create further BBC costs. Last week we revealed how Chapman and Kelly had been dating since May after growing close on Match of the Day. Chapman was seeing Dubai-based mum-of-two Clere Collier for three years before abruptly ending the romance in April. He and Kelly appeared flirty on TV’s Celebrity Gogglebox this summer. Kelly split from TV producer husband Tom in 2021. They have two kids. Chapman lost his wife of 19 years, Sara, to cancer when she was aged 44 in 2020. They had three children together. The BBC declined to comment. Representatives for Kelly and Mark were asked for comment.
Source: The Sun
