Henry Kelly was born in Dublin, but lived for the first seven years of his life in Athlone, Co Westmeath, Ireland. He read Economics and English at University College, Dublin.

He began his career as a journalist and was the Northern Editor of the Irish Times in Belfast during the 1970’s. He wrote How Stormont Fell in 1972, a still highly regarded work. In 1976, he moved to London to work on Radio 4's World Tonight programme and in a complete career change from serious journalism, he moved into television at the beginning of 1980’s.

Henry soon became a household name in the UK as part of the presenting team for LWT's practical-joke show Game for a Laugh. He went on to present Going for Gold for over nine years, a significantly popular lunchtime TV quiz show on BBC1. It was through his work on Going for Gold, Henry developed the catchphrases: "What am I?" and "Now you're playing catchup".

In 1992, Henry was also one of the launch presenters of Classic FM, initially presenting the weekday mid-morning show from 9am-12pm. He then moved on to the Breakfast Show  attracting 3.5m listeners making his programme the stations highest rated daily programme and the most popular breakfast show on commercial radio in the UK. From here, he took up the Drivetime slot on London news & talk station LBC 97.3 until the end of 2004. His show was an eclectic mix of news and current affairs, the arts and food, fashion and cosmetics.

He continued to work in radio, presenting the late radio show on BBC London 94.9fm before taking over the weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio Berkshire every weekday morning from 10am-1pm. In 2006, in addition to his daily show on BBC Radio Berkshire, Henry also returned to Classic FM presenting a three hour Sunday morning show from 9am-12noon. Henry has also regularly contributed to Sky News, reviewing the national newspapers on Sunday mornings.

He has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines including Classic FM -The Magazine interviewing the great personalities of the classical music world. His historical archaeological and slightly foodie guide to Ireland’s Atlantic coast Henry Kelly in the West of Ireland was co-written with his partner Karolyn Shindler.

He is a popular After Dinner Speaker, Auctioneer and Quiz Master on the corporate circuit. He also hosts Award Ceremonies for a wide variety of events. Henry is also a popular Entertainer and continues to compare classical concerts with the P&O cruise line.

Apart from his broadcasting work, Henry enjoys classical music, golf, horse racing, cricket and the arts.