Parents SLAM Kay Burley for ruining the magic of Christmas live on air

'Thanks for ruining the illusion of Santa Claus for thousands of kids'

If you have a child who believes in Father Christmas, it's always adorable to watch them get excited for his visit on Christmas Eve.

Whether it's going to see Santa at the local shopping centre, or leaving out a mince pie for him the night before Christmas, it's lovely to keep the magic of his presence alive for as long as you can.

But now, many parents have criticised the TV presenter Kay Burley, accusing her of saying that Santa isn't real live on air.

The newsreader, who has fans asking where is Kay Burley when she's not on screen, was talking to consumer expert Harry Wallop on Sky News when she made the controversial statement.

She asked how old Harry's children were, and he replied that they were 14 and 11.

The 55-year-old then went on to shatter the Santa illusion, telling him: 'At that age they both still believe in Father Christmas so they know that you're not buying it for them.'

As this part of the news programme was shown just before 5pm, way before many children's bedtimes, parents have hit out at the presenter for using the phrase 'still believe' in her sentence.

Twitter user Grant Anderson said: ‘Thanks for ruining the illusion of santa clause for thousands of kids @Kay Burley'

See more

Other parents said their children were actually in the room when Kay was talking and picked up on her comment, and begun asking questions.

One said: '@Kay Burley as I heard it you made a remark about the guest's kids still/not believing My 8yr old asked what that meant. I had to fob him off'.

See more

Another added: 'I thought that. My 8 year old just walked in and asked what she said!'

However, Kay has since taken to the social media platform to defend herself, calling that the idea she's ruined the Santa story as 'nonsense'.

See more

Others have jumped to the newsreader's defence, arguing that the news is not a children's programme and so parents shouldn't expect newsreaders to protect their children from the truth about Father Christmas.

Twitter user Danielle Hallett said: ‘Baffled at the cr** @KayBurley is getting for "ruining Christmas" from parents who's children watch the news. Hint: SkyNews isn't CBeebies!'

See more

Do you think Kay was wrong to imply Santa isn't real on daytime TV, or is it all a fuss over nothing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Family Writer

Charlotte Whistlecroft is a former Family writer at GoodTo. She obtained a BA in Theology and Theological Studies at Durham University, going on to study a masters at City University London in 2016. Since leaving GoodTo she has worked as a Social Video Researcher at Mail Online and is now Assistant Producer at BBC Sport.