Perhaps it should have come as little surprise that Match of the Day hosts Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates are now an item.
Eagle-eyed viewers will have seen them featuring in episodes of Channel 4 show Celebrity Gogglebox recently and the pair appear to have got closer between the broadcasts – literally.
In the first, aired in June 2025, the pair were sat apart on the sofa with Chapman having his arms folded and Cates had her hands tightly clasped.
A year later, from episodes in June and July 2026, footage shows them sat closer together and appearing much more relaxed.
And on a clip previewing one episode in June, posted on Gogglebox’s Instagram account, Cates brushes crumbs off Chapman’s shirt, and he flirtily replies: ‘It’s because some of the television’s been so funny you’ve spat the crisps all over me!’
Chapman’s ex-girlfriend Clere Collier has accused him of starting the relationship with Cates while they were still together – which he denies. They are said to have split in April, before the 2026 round of Gogglebox filming.
Chapman and Cates appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox back in June 2025
… and the chemistry is clear in an episode from July 2026 a year on
News of the relationship between 52-year-old Chapman and Cates, 51, emerged at the weekend, just over a year after they began their roles as co-hosts of Match of the Day alongside Gabby Logan.
And the development appears to have been well-received among many football fans, with X user Joni Cluer posting: ‘I hope this is true, always thought there was a connection between them.’
Fellow X user Peter Crowther said: ‘I predicted that after seeing them on Gogglebox! The chemistry was there. Good luck to them.’
The pair also enjoyed a day out at an event at which they met the cast of The Traitors, with The Sports Agents, the twice-weekly podcast hosted by Chapman and Logan, posting a picture of the pair with series 4 winner Stephen Libby.
Chapman told Logan on the podcast: ‘I do think that, in the cold light of day the following morning, I may have had too much to drink.
‘There was a long conversation with Stephen, Kelly and myself about whether one of his jumpsuits would work for me to do the FA Cup final!’
Chapman added that he had effectively acted as Cates’ personal assistant for the day as he asked various cast members for photos with her, adding: ‘We had such a fun time.’
Chapman recently split with estate agent Clere, who accused him of an overlap in the relationship with Cates while they were together, an allegation he denies.
On salaries of £335,000-£340,000 and £215,000-£220,000 per year respectively, Chapman and Cates are two of the BBC’s highest-paid employees.
Chapman was previously married to wife Sara for 19 years until she died in 2020 after a battle with cancer. They had three kids together and lived in Hale in Greater Manchester.
Reacting to the news Chapman and Cates had been dating, talkSPORT Breakfast co-host Gabby Agbonlahor said: ‘How fantastic. Great news for a Monday morning. It’s set everyone listening off to a great week.’
His co-host Ally McCoist added: ‘We’re all delighted and we’re all thrilled. We wish them all the best. Two great people.’
News of Cates’ relationship with Chapman is in stark contrast to her comments on Gabby Logan’s The Mid Point podcast in March 2021 when she spoke about the struggles of dating and her own insecurities.
‘I don’t have a picture in my head of why a middle-aged, slightly overweight mother of two could possibly be attractive,’ she said.
‘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.
‘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.’
High-flying Clere Collier accused Chapman of an overlap in the two relationships
Cates spoke about the struggles of dating and her own insecurities on a podcast
Cates candidly added: ‘Bearing in mind I don’t get to see the people I do like quite often, but I do know unless I want to spend the rest of my life alone… and I’ve got no real thoughts about long term relationships or anything like that.
‘Imagine sitting there and halfway through you think, “God this guy’s an idiot.” You’ve just wasted a babysitter.’
The news comes as BBC Sport faces mutiny over their latest restructuring.
Strike action is now said to be ‘inevitable’ amid the latest redundancy plans, with staff left furious at a view that while dozens of rank and file jobs will go, well-remunerated senior leadership appears to be ‘untouched’.
Daily Mail Sport revealed that a series of job cuts were to be announced ahead of a ‘savings’ call with all staff.
On the summit, workers were told that 41 roles would be culled, with five new posts created as director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski continues to ring the changes with a series of controversial moves some believe are aimed at chasing clicks, rather than serving all of the licence-paying audience.
‘Everyone is furious,’ explained one insider. ‘The TV sports news department in particular will be decimated. And yet those at the top, unsurprisingly, are untouched. The feeling is that strike action is inevitable.’
Daily Mail Sport understands that while nobody in a senior leadership role is at risk, it would be wrong to suggest that management itself is not impacted and that the highest percentage of the 41 job losses comes from management level.
