Carol Kirkwood, the veteran BBC weather presenter, delivered her final forecast on Wednesday morning, marking the end of a 28-year career at the broadcaster. The 63-year-old became emotional as she signed off from BBC Breakfast, with colleagues Jon Kay and Sally Nugent paying tribute.
The special programme included messages from singer Bryan Adams, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and former BBC Breakfast presenter Susanna Reid. Kirkwood was also reunited with the dog that pulled her off screen during a live broadcast from the Chelsea Flower Show in 2021. Earlier in the week, she finally met Larry the Cat, the resident tabby at 10 Downing Street.
Kirkwood's husband, police officer Steve Randall, surprised her in the studio with a large bouquet of flowers. She joked, "You told me you weren't coming in! You're in trouble." Randall said it would be "the best thing ever" to have more time together, as he had long shared her early starts, rising at 2.45am to make her tea.
Fighting back tears, Kirkwood thanked audiences for "letting me be a part of your lives." She said, "This is a forecast I've known for quite a while was coming... After 28 years as a BBC weather presenter, tracking storms, chasing sunshine and occasionally getting it completely wrong, I'm saying goodbye." She added, "Thank you for trusting me – you've been the constant in all of this and I've never taken that for granted. I'm really going to miss you."
Kirkwood announced her departure in January, saying it had not been an easy decision but felt like the right moment to step away. She joined the BBC Weather Centre in April 1998 and became the main weather presenter on BBC Breakfast in 2010.
