Melissa Reddy among ‘SEVEN’ job casualties at Sky Sports News – with one long-serving presenter in tears as he announces exit
Meslissa Reddy is reportedly one of seven Sky Sports News broadcasters who has been informed she is being made redundant.
The reporter was told her fate alongside her colleagues in an internal memo on Tuesday, according to The Sun.
It comes after presenter Rob Wotton choked up during his final appearance after 27 years working for the channel on Monday.
Presenters Teddy Draper and Jasper Taylor; reporters Jeremy Langdon and Fadumo Olow; and producer Nick Lustig have also reportedly been cut.
Mail Sport first broke the news of Sky’s intended redundancy programme earlier this month.
Insiders have insisted that the move is not a cost-cutting measure while a spokesperson said it was aimed at ‘making us more agile and better equipped to serve audiences’.
The restructuring from the US-owned company has not been taken lightly, according to sources.
The priority, among bosses, is to ensure that the department adapts to meet the changing behaviours of audiences and is ‘faster, more flexible and more creative’.
Wotton was almost reduced to tears as he bid goodbye to viewers for the final time on The Football Show, which has now been axed by Sky, on Monday night.
He said: ‘It’s been an absolute pleasure. I came here in my 20s and I thought I was only coming for a couple of weeks.
‘And look, they haven’t been able to get rid of me. I keep turning up, maybe one day they’ll pay me!’
Wotton then revealed the team he supports as he signed off for the final time, shouting out ‘come on the Chels!’
He was joined by fellow hosts Stephen Warnock and Sue Smith, who gave Wotton a fond farewell before his departure.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was said to be a keen viewer of the analysis show, as he enjoyed its ‘Ref Watch’ analysis segment with ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher.
Wotton’s departure comes as a shock to employees as Sky, who are said to be dismayed by the decision to cut the programme.
Some are even said to be ‘bewildered’ with Sky Sports undergoing a ‘restructure’ that has seen seven reporters and presenters leave.
More to follow.
