Katy Balls

This article is about the British journalist. For the American swimmer, see Catie Ball. For the British rower, see Katie Ball.

Kathryn (Katy) Balls^[2] (born 12 February 1989) is a British journalist. She is Washington Editor for The Times^[3] having previously been political editor of The Spectator.^[4][5]

Katy Balls
Balls in 2020
Born	(1989-02-12) 12 February 1989 (age 36)[1] Aberdeen, Scotland
Alma mater	University of Durham
Occupation	Journalist
Years active	2013–present
Employer	The Spectator

Early life

Born in Aberdeen,^[6] Balls grew up in North Berwick and attended North Berwick High School.^[7][8][9] She studied at the University of Durham, where she wrote for the university paper Palatinate on travel and music.^[10][11][12] She graduated from Durham with a 2:1 degree in Philosophy in 2010.^[13]

Career

Balls' media career began at The Daily Telegraph with the Mandrake column.^[14][15] She was diary editor at The Spectator, became a political correspondent for it in December 2016, was appointed deputy political editor in January 2019,^[16][17][18] and promoted to political editor in January 2023.^[19]

Balls writes a fortnightly column on Westminster politics for i.^[20] Her column was nominated for Political Commentary of the Year at the 2017 Press Awards.^[21] She hosts a podcast entitled Women With Balls.^[22] Balls has made several television appearances, including The Bolt Report, Good Morning Britain, Sky News, Politics Live, The Andrew Marr Show, and Have I Got News for You.^[23][24]

On the 21st February 2025, Balls joined the Times becoming its Washington Editor.^[3]

Personal life

Balls is married to Max Bye, son of Ruby Wax and Ed Bye.^[25][26]