Kay Burley throttles photographer

Look, it’s Sky News’ most fragrant anchorwoman, Kay Burley (aka the Wigan Strangler), throttling a PA photographer. This all happened last week outside the Magistrates’ court where Naomi Campbell was appearing but has become a talking point among columnists over the weekend. The Daily Mail has pictures.

All of which raises the important question: Is Kay Burley a psychopath? Think about it. When she’s interviewing some lunchtime dullard on the news, you can sometimes hear an exasperation in her voice that threatens to boil over from straightforward tenacity into a frenzied knife attack, can’t you? So to see her pin someone up against the wall by the neck perhaps isn’t that surprising.

I once saw her verbally tear a construction journalist to shreds over cost escalations at the new Wembley stadium despite the fact that he had clearly been invited on by Burley’s producer in order to bolster Sky’s own agenda, which was to bash the contractor, Multiplex. It was a confusing exchange - the poor magazine journalist clearly had no idea he was going to be “Paxmanned”, while Burley appeared to relish an ultimately pointless ambush.

What’s fascinating about the strangulation incident is that she appears to have forgotten that it ever took place. In an unconvincing denial, Burley says:

As far as I am aware I did not put my hands around her neck. I was hit in the face with a camera. You can still see the injury on my forehead and like anyone else would do I just put my hands up. If I did anything else, then I apologise.

Spot the mock-sincerity of a seasoned media pro…

In fairness, Burley is sporting a massive bruise to the side of the face. And if she’d have roughed-up a snapper who happened to a be a fat, balding bloke, everyone would have been cheering her on. The fact that the “victim” is a young-ish blonde woman called Kirsty produces a slightly different response.