EXCLUSIVE: Top female sports broadcaster Kelly Somers talks working with Wayne Rooney and jetting off the States with the family to cover all the World Cup action
She’s one of Britain’s most recognisable and trusted figures in football broadcasting, but remind her of her achievements and Kelly Somers remains refreshingly humble.
As a presenter across BBC Sport, the face of Fantasy Premier League content and co-host of The Wayne Rooney Show, Kelly is a busy lady. So it’s no surprise that when the Mirror catches up with the mum-of-one, she’s in the midst of frantically packing her bags.
The star is days away from catching a flight to America to cover all the World Cup action. Is that as exciting — and nerve-wracking — as it sounds?
“Oh, it’s very exciting,” she smiles. “It feels like there’s been so much build-up — I’m really looking forward to letting the football take over. You get into the football rhythm.”
The 35-year-old from Watford (she’s a lifelong supporter of Watford FC), is relishing the jaunt across the pond. She says, “I see this job as a fabulous opportunity to travel, particularly depending on which route England takes. If they get through the group, which I imagine they will.”
There’s only one niggle. “Obviously it’s going to be very hot, particularly if they play in Mexico City, which is a real possibility if they win the group,” she explains. “So it’s going to be interesting. It’s tricky to pack for!”
Kelly’s fiancé of five years, Max, who orchestrated a surprise proposal near London’s Primrose Hill, will also be there, as well as their two-year-old daughter and Kelly’s mother, Jane.
“It will be a juggle,” she says. “But it’s a long time to be away, and this was the best way we decided as a family that it would work for us.”
But Kelly isn’t daunted about bringing a toddler along to the World Cup. By all accounts, she’s already quite the little globetrotter.
Kelly says, “She was seven months old at Euro 2024, and came to Germany last summer. We’re embracing it as one big adventure. It’s a great experience for her, but she’s not going to be travelling to every game with me — I don’t want to completely disrupt her routine.
“We’ll be based near the England training ground. It’s like we’re relocating there for six weeks. We’ll hopefully get some routine for her there, but she’ll love it. There are lots of parks nearby. It’s something to tell her about when she’s older.”
After confirming her pregnancy in August 2023, Kelly admitted that having been diagnosed with endometriosis before doctors discovered she had polycystic ovaries in 2019, there was a point she believed motherhood wouldn’t happen for her.
She said to OK! at the time, “I never, ever thought I would get to be a mum. I’ve grown up thinking it wouldn’t be possible. I’ve had so many problems, so I feel incredibly fortunate.”
Kelly says, “I was due in November, and I remember thinking, that’s a men’s international break. I told the TV company I was working for that I couldn’t travel to the game, but I could come in and do the interviews.”
She did “little bits” of work early on, explaining that in her job she doesn’t get a year of maternity leave, but she feels lucky that she’s not in a nine to five.
She says, “I can have a little flexibility. And If I do a job, I’m all in. You just have to be a lot more organised — probably not my forte in other areas of my life! Becoming a mum has almost sharpened my focus on my job in a way. I’ve not lost any ambition. I don’t think my brain’s mush, which I was scared of!”
This will be Kelly’s fourth major tournament as an England reporter. She’s interviewed most of the players, especially as she also fronts the BBC series The Football Interview.
Does she know some of the star players quite well? Kelly laughs, “I’m not going to pretend I’m mates with the England footballers, but they know me, of course. And it means I know their characters a little more and that hopefully makes them feel comfortable.”
Kelly also co-hosts The Wayne Rooney Show podcast So what’s the former Manchester United legend-turned-pundit really like?
“Wayne’s great,” she says, smiling. “The podcast’s quite a commitment, we do two a week. We’ll keep recording throughout the World Cup, though I’ll be in a different time zone. But he’s brilliant. We recorded the first episode at his house last August, and he was very welcoming.”
Kelly has also met Wayne’s wife, Coleen, and says, “She came on the podcast in November and spoke about I’m A Celebrity and living with Wayne. I met her at the BBC launch as well. Wayne’s agent introduced me, and she was very kind, very polite and supportive.”
Their guests have not only included people from the football world, such as Wayne’s pal, Everton manager David Moyes, but also This City Is Ours’ James Nelson-Joyce and MMA fighter Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett.
Kelly adds, “Everyone’s got a good Wayne Rooney story, like him playing a ridiculous prank on somebody. It’s been fun to see the other side of him.”
She has met some interesting people throughout her career, but we’re interested in the selfie we’ve seen of Kelly in the stands with Hollywood star and co-owner of Wrexham FC, Ryan Reynolds.
“Oh! They were filming a link with him, I went up there to watch,” recalls Kelly. “Then Alan Shearer was like, ‘Go on, get a photo with him.’ I went bright red. I kind of cringe inside when I look at that photo. But he was so nice.”
Looking back, Kelly says being pitch-side at two England finals is the highlight of her career to date. “As a young girl, I was a Watford fan, but also watching England at major tournaments in the summer was a huge family highlight. To now be on the other side, asking the questions with a front-row seat is so special.
“The tournaments are such big cultural moments. They’re not just for die-hard football fans. A lot of my best friends aren’t into football at all and love them.”
So does Kelly have any burning ambitions away from sport, say a stint on Strictly? “That’s funny — my partner always jokes, ‘Promise me you’ll never do Strictly’, because I’m so bad at dancing. If I was to do it, I’d count it as a win getting through week one.”
But football will always be her “safe space”, and she’s delighted at the strides being made in terms of female presenters.
“There’s still progress to be made. But we’ve had some phenomenal female sport presenters over the years and still have, like Clare Balding and Hazel Irvine. Now we have two powerhouse women presenting Match Of The Day [Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates]. That’s something for all of us.”
Watch Kelly in the FIFA World Cup 2026 live on BBC TV and on BBC iPlayer
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