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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Richard Keys breaks silence after wedding with rant on affair, Sky axe and Jamie Redknapp

Newly-wed Richard Keys has broken his silence with a lengthy rant days after tying the knot with his daughter's 'good friend'.

The former Sky Sports presenter, 66, got hitched to Lucie Rose, 34, in Devon, admitting he was a "lucky man" after tying the knot for a second time.

Richard was first introduced to Lucy while married to his wife of 34 years Julia Keys, with whom he shares two children, daughter Jemma and son Joshua.

Jemma's relationship with her dad broke down over the affair as she raged at him for hooking up with her 'friend.'

Richard has now spoken out to deny Jemma and Lucie were ever close, as well to deny a slew of other claims in the wake of his second wedding.

Following the lavish wedding, Richard took to his online blog to hit out at allegations about his marriage breakdown, his departure from Sky Sports and fallout with Jamie Redknapp.

Richard firstly denied that his affair with Lucie was uncovered by wife Julia as she battled cancer.

"When my first marriage collapsed my wife [Julia] was not suffering with cancer," Richard began. "She’d been seven years in remission after a dreadful scare - one she managed with dignity and bravery.

"And I was with her every step of the way. She is still very much alive and well, although it is true that cancer sufferers always need to be careful about their health."

He went on to address the claims that he and his daughter Jemma fell out after his alleged affair was exposed, which plunged the ex-Hollyoaks actress into the depths of her battle with alcoholism.

Richard, who now works for Qatar-based BeIn Sports, wrote: "Sadly my daughters’ problems have become too well known. In her case, she has been ill for many many years. Her problems cost her everything, including an embryonic acting career. I’ve tried to protect her from intrusion, but failed."

He said his first wife wasn't suffering from cancer when the marriage collapsed (Andrew Mccafferty/REX/Shutterstock)
Julia previously said the alleged affair 'devastated' her and her children's lives (S Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

He also denied claims he was sacked from Sky Sports 'in disgrace' and said he 'resigned of his own volition after Sky sacked Andy [Gray]'.

"As he himself has said 'they were after me. Keysie was collateral damage'. He’s my mate. I will always stand by him – just as he has me," he added.

According to Richard's furious blog, his wife Lucie was never friends with his daughter as they "only met twice".

"The circumstances don’t matter - at this stage. That’s something else I’ll address going forward," the presenter wrote.

Finally, he addressed the break-up of his first marriage and how it affected their children at the time.

Richard claimed his new wife and his daughter were never friends (Ian Tuttle/BPI/REX/Shutterstock)

"The break-up of my first marriage did not ‘wreck’ my children’s lives. One was 28 - the other 32," he said.

However, his ex-wife previously discussed her husband moving on in her book The MANScript.

She wrote: "Richard's affair didn't just devastate my world, but the world of our children Jemma and Josh too.

"It is only now, two years on, that he has admitted he did have an affair with Lucie, as well as acknowledging his deceit and the damage it has caused."

In his lengthy blog post, Richard also addressed his fallout with fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp.

Keys was sacked from Sky Sports in 2010 over a sexism storm when footage leaked of him making derogatory comments about a female assistant referee.

However it was the incident with Redknapp which Keys is infamously remembered for, after more footage had previously emerged of him asking the former Liverpool player whether he had 'smashed it', in reference to a former girlfriend.

The footage was taken whilst Sky's coverage was off-air with Redknapp seen looking unimpressed in the studio.

Addressing the scandal yesterday, Keys said: "My response to Jamie Redknapp was as a result of him telling me that night at Chelsea ‘I’ll be at your house when you get home - hanging out of the back of Julia and Jemma’. I wonder if this little nugget will get much traction? Somehow I doubt it.

"What he said was edited from a carefully edited tape. ‘Hanging out of the back of….’ Redknapp’s phraseology. Not mine. I simply mimicked it. As I did with ‘smash it’. Does anyone seriously believe I’m childish enough to use phrases like that?"

After leaving Sky Sports, Richard apologised for 'prehistoric banter.'

He said at the time: "Such comments were made off-air to work colleagues, and were, of course, never intended to be broadcast." He added that "If off-air conversations of television and radio presenters were recorded, there would be no one left working. That is not to defend what happened."

He went on to join talkSPORT radio and in 2013 joined Al Jazeera alongside Andy Gray.

The pair now work together on BeIN Sports.

Mirror Online has contacted Jamie Redknapp for comment.

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