[2] In 1976 he left The Irish Times and moved to London to work as a reporter for the British Broadcasting Corporation on its Radio 4 The World Tonight programme.

In June 1983, Kelly joined TV-am, and became the host of the Saturday edition of "Good Morning Britain" with Toni Arthur.

[5] He left TV-am in 1987, and from 1987 to 1996 he presented Going for Gold, a lunchtime television quiz game show broadcast on BBC1 with contestants from across Europe.

He had previously appeared on that programme discussing the activities of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, which he had witnessed first-hand as a journalist in the early 1970s.

In February 2004 he declared himself bankrupt thirteen years after the Inland Revenue had sued him for the non-payment during the 1980s of income tax and national insurance contributions.

[8] At the end of 2004, Kelly and some of LBC's most experienced presenters, such as Brian Hayes and Angela Rippon, did not have their contracts renewed.