BBC Match of the Day host Mark Chapman ‘relationship co-host Kelly Cates after girlfriend break up’
Match of the Day hosts Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates are said to be dating after the Celebrity Gogglebox pair became close following the break-up of Chapman’s last relationship
Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman(Image: PA)
Match of the Day presenter Mark Chapman is reportedly dating his BBC co-host Kelly Cates after splitting up from his girlfriend of three years.
Chapman, 52, is believed to have split from Dubai-based estate agent Clere Collier in April this year, according to the Sun. The newspaper claims Clere later challenged him over her suspicions he had become close with fellow BBC star Kelly, 51 – the daughter of Liverpool and Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish.
But a source is said to have told the Sun there was nothing inappropriate about the Celebrity Gogglebox duo getting together, stating: “Mark admitted the relationship but insisted there was no overlap between the two women and that he hadn’t cheated on her.”
Match of the Day host Mark Chapman and co-presenter Kelly Cates on the sofa for Celebrity Gogglebox in July(Image: Channel 4)
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Chapman is claimed to have ended things with mum-of-two Collier following three years as a couple.
A source told The Sun: “Mark split with Clere out of the blue, without much explanation.
“They had been making plans for the future and their relationship had been going strong.
“They stayed in touch after the split, but Clere soon realised that Mark and Kelly were close and she accused Mark of dating Kelly.
“Mark admitted the relationship, but insisted there was no overlap between the two women and that he hadn’t cheated on her.
BBC Match of the Day hosts Kelly Cates, Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC / Charlie Clift)
“He told her that he had been a single man when he started spending time with Kelly.”
Chapman and Cates stepped up as key hosts of Match Of The Day alongside Gabby Logan last season after Gary Lineker’s exit from the show.
The duo featured together on Celebrity Gogglebox back in July, cosying up on the same sofa.
Chapman had already cemented his position as a leading BBC football presenter through his contributions to Match Of The Day 2 and numerous other major sporting occasions before stepping into a more central role on the flagship show.
He was wed to his wife Sara for 19 years before her death aged 44 in 2020 after battling cancer. The pair shared three children.
Chapman is understood to have begun a relationship with Collier in 2023, with the property professional frequently making trips to the UK from the United Arab Emirates.
Cates, meanwhile, was formerly wed to TV producer Tom Cates, with whom she shares two children, before their marriage ended in 2021.
BBC Sport trio Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan(Image: PA)
She previously confessed to co-host Logan on a podcast that she felt anxious about the prospect of dating, revealing: “I don’t have a picture in my head of why a middle-aged, slightly overweight mother of two could possibly be attractive.
“I can’t get my head round that. It’s not that I’m putting myself down and it’s not a lack of confidence or a low self-esteem. It’s just I don’t know what that would look like.”
She went on: “The thought of going on a date, spending an evening with someone and at the end of it thinking, ‘Well, I don’t really like you’, I would be so resentful of them taking up my time. Obviously it’s vice-versa, too, but I’m not really bothered about it from their perspective bearing in mind I don’t get to see the people I do like very often.”
