Weather forecaster Carol Kirkwood has left the BBC studios with Breakfast co-stars Sally Nugent and Jon Jay following her tearful announcement that she will be leaving the corporation after more than 25 years.
The 63-year-old told viewers on Tuesday morning that she will soon be departing the BBC for good so she can spend more time with her police officer husband, Steve Randall.
Carol began dating Mr Randall in June 2021 after becoming friends several years prior – before tying the knot in December 2023.
But the weather presenter told today how she and her husband have been ‘ships that pass in the night’ thanks to her early starts.
And after more than 25 years, she is calling it quits – to spend more time with her ‘handsome, kind, gentle, strong, funny, charming’ man, go travelling and write more novels, of which she already has published five.
After the emotional announcement, which saw Carol tear up and Sally give her a warm hug, she was all smiles as she departed the studios with fellow presenters Nugent and Jon Kay.
Carol battled with a BBC Breakfast umbrella outside the studios in Salford, Greater Manchester, before posing for pictures with the presenters.
Dressed in a long white coat and with a wide smile, Carol put her arms around Sally and Jon as they departed together.
Carol Kirkwood poses with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay outside the BBC Breakfast studios at Salford Quays in Greater Manchester after revealing her plans to leave the corporation
Carol Kirkwood pictured with her husband Steve Randall on holiday in Norway in 2023
Carol struggled briefly with a BBC Breakfast umbrella as she left the studios amid heavy rain
She told the programme on Tuesday how she plans to spend more time with her husband, Steve Randall
Carol Kirkwood was on the verge of tears as she announced she would leave the BBC after more than 25 years (seen announcing the news on BBC Breakfast today)
Breaking the news to the nation that she would be leaving for good, she told the pair on air this morning: ‘I love my job, I’ve loved working at the BBC, but I love my husband more than my job. More than everyone, I should say.
‘We only got married a couple of years ago and we’re ships that pass in the night so I’m so looking forward to [spending more time together].
‘The future is rosy and the time is right, absolutely right for me to go.’
Carol and Steve were friends before their romance blossomed, having first met in 2017. The pair have a 13-year age gap, leading her to joke that she is ‘punching’.
She wed Steve in December 2023 at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, and the pair now live together in Windsor.
Carol, from Morar in Scotland, fought back tears as she revealed today that she will leave BBC in April after more than 25 years with the broadcaster – delivering the news immediately after the latest on Storm Chandra.
She had kept the news of her departure secret from everyone – including her friends and her colleagues at BBC Breakfast.
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But she had hinted last year that she was thinking of moving on, since she was spending as little as 90 minutes with her husband a day.
She told Saga Magazine: ‘Steve and I plan to escape and travel for some time when we retire, perhaps in a year or two. We’ll travel in a camper van or get in the car, cross over to France and then just drive.’
Carol and Steve were wed in December 2023 at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire in a private ceremony with no guests. The pair now live together in Windsor.
She told House Beautiful magazine in July 2024: ‘If he’s at home, I’m happy. I don’t need anything else. He’s tall, handsome, kind, gentle, strong, funny, charming.
‘He’s a gentleman. He’s good at cooking. I could wax lyrical about Steve forever.’
Carol Kirkwood has worked at the BBC for more than 25 years and is a staple of British morning television
The presenters all appeared to be in good spirits as they posed for photographs after Carol’s shock announcement
Carol pictured with Steve at a Radio Times event in January 2023. They were wed in December that year
Carol flashes her engagement ring on BBC Breakfast in May 2022 – when she made the news public for the first time
Carol pictured with Steve at the Chelsea Flower Show on the same day she revealed they were engaged
She was comforted as she delivered the news to presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent – Jon going so far as to offer her a tissue…
…before reaching across for a hug live on air. Carol had kept the news a secret from her friends and even production staff at the BBC
Carol’s career has taken her beyond a weather map, seen here with with Rufus the falcon on Centre Court at Wimbledon. The bird is is famed for scaring away birds during the tennis
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Carol Kirkwood, 63, admits she only spends 90 minutes a day with new husband Steve, 49
Born Carol MacKellaig, she was married to property developer Jimmy Kirkwood before announcing that they were separating in 2008 after nearly two decades.
The split left her crying between delivering live forecasts – but, as she later revealed to the Radio Times, encouraged her to come out of her shell.
She told the magazine: ‘I found myself when I got divorced. I started to do things and to think, “I’m not going to say no, I’m going to say yes!”
‘I’m braver now. I’ve flown with the Red Arrows, jumped out of planes with the Red Devils. When I was younger I would never have done that because I’d have thought, “Too dangerous!” Now I think, “Oh, you’ve got to live your life!”‘
Meeting Steve, she said, was ‘fate’ – the pair starting as friends before romance ensued.
She recalled to Saga: ‘We were at a function neither of us wanted to go to. It was a Sliding Doors moment – if I hadn’t gone, we would never have met. We chatted, he gave me his number, and ages later, we met for coffee.’
Met Office-trained Carol choked up as she joined presenters Sally and Jon on the programme’s sofa today, saying: ‘So, I’m going to be leaving – and it’s really hard, really hard for me to say this because I love my job.
‘But it’s great – I don’t want to be coming in in my Zimmer frame and saying, “I can’t reach the Northern Isles anymore!”‘
Turning to Sally and Jon, she added: ‘I didn’t want to get emotional but you two are my friends and I love you dearly.’
As Carol finished delivering the news, Sally held her hand and Jon reached for a box of tissues, before both giving her a tight hug.
Sally joked: ‘There’s one important thing that we haven’t mentioned, which is that you are going to get a lie in.’
Carol competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 with Pasha Kovalev, ultimately finishing 10th in week eight
Carol Kirkwood with early internet star Grumpy Cat in 2016 – just another day in a career that took her far beyond standing in front of a weather map
Carol with Naga Munchetty, Jon Kay and Sally Nugent cutting a cake to celebrate 40 years of BBC Breakfast in 2023
Carol’s sunny disposition and endless charm won her millions of fans – and industry plaudits
Carol’s BBC career has regularly seen her go above and beyond the use of a clicker.
She has memorably reported on sunshine and showers at Wimbledon, the Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Ascot for BBC Breakfast, where she has been the main weather presenter since 2010.
And her sunny disposition has seen her laugh through the perils of live-broadcasting, including being dragged to the ground by dogs on more than one occasion and laughing off a gaffe in which she called dog-walkers in Greenwich Park ‘doggers’.
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Carol began her BBC career as a production secretary and production assistant on, ironically, BBC Breakfast – and had no designs on becoming a meteorologist, leaving the corporation for a time to work in consultancy.
She then auditioned for and underwent training at The Weather Channel in the US to become presenter on its short-lived UK edition, before she trained with the BBC and the Met Office to join the corporation full-time.
She joined the BBC Weather Centre in 1998, and quickly became a familiar face to millions on BBC News and BBC Breakfast.
Her sparkling personality and endless on-screen charm has won her fans across the country, a collection of industry awards and wider recognition, including a place on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, where she reached week eight with Pasha Kovalev.
In a written statement, she added that leaving the broadcaster ‘hasn’t been an easy decision to make’, but added it ‘feels like the right moment to step away’.
She said: ‘It’s been an absolute privilege to bring you the weather every day. My job is something I’ve never taken for granted and I’ve loved every minute!
‘From early starts and all manner of forecasts, I’ve shared it with incredible colleagues at BBC Breakfast, BBC Weather and programmes across the BBC. I’d like to thank them for their support and friendship which has meant the world.
‘And to those watching and listening at home – thank you for all the kindness you have shown me over the years, being part of your mornings has been a joy.
‘This hasn’t been an easy decision to make, but it feels like the right moment to step away. I’ll carry with me the most wonderful memories.’
Jonathan Munro, interim chief executive at BBC News and Current Affairs, said: ‘Carol’s contribution to BBC News and BBC Weather has been exceptional.
‘From major national moments to the everyday forecasts that are such an important part of our audiences’ lives, she has set the gold standard for our accurate, valued journalism – always delivered with an appropriately sunny outlook.
‘She will be greatly missed by teams across the BBC. We wish her all the best for the future.’
