Burley grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and was interested in politics from a young age. He obtained a degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham.[2]
The first episode of Politics Live generated criticism online because it featured a panel of five women. Burley said he had "zero shame" about the episode and that they had "invited people and they said yes and then we realised our best line-up was all female".[7]
Following a November 2019 edition of Question Time, claims arose that a Brexit and Boris Johnson supporter in the show's audience was Burley's son. The fact-checking organisation Full Fact said that the false claim originated from a spoof Twitter account. The audience member's real identity was revealed to be a 19-year-old Conservative Party member, Layton J. Smith.[8]
Brexitcast was renamed Newscast after the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020. The final edition of Brexitcast was released on 1 February 2020, with the first edition of Newscast airing on 6 February.
Burley's role of editor of live political programmes was closed by the BBC in 2021.[9]
In 2021, HarperCollins secured Burley's book, Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?, published in 2023. In it, he humorously describes his experiences with British politicians and focuses on 12 political interviews over a 25-year period.[10]Brian and Margaret, a two-part television drama based on Burley's book, covering Brian Walden's 1989 interview of Margaret Thatcher, was commissioned in June 2024.[11]
In 2022, Burley joined Global as executive editor of Andrew Marr's LBC programme Tonight with Andrew Marr.[12]
