BBC Breakfast weather presenter Carol Kirkwood returned to the programme on Monday, April 22, after being absent for the entire previous week. Her return prompted viewers to express concern over her health, with many noting that her voice sounded 'croaky'.
During her absence, fellow meteorologists Matt Taylor and Sarah Keith-Lucas covered for Kirkwood. Upon her return, several viewers took to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to comment on her hoarse voice. One user wrote: 'Good morning. You sounded a little croaky this morning. Hope you OK.' Another added: 'Someone please give Carol a throat sweet, she sounds terrible.'
Kirkwood, 61, has appeared to struggle with her voice for several weeks, having previously complained of losing her voice while on air. This latest health issue follows her candid discussion about her divorce from first husband Jimmy Kirkwood, which she described as 'devastating'.
In an interview on Kaye Adam's podcast 'How to Be 60', Kirkwood revealed that her divorce was one of the hardest years of her life. She said: 'Probably the year I got divorced, I didn't expect that to happen and it was shocking. It was pretty devastating at the time, but it led to better things after that.' She also cited the death of her father as another difficult period.
Kirkwood is now happily married to Steve Randall, whom she met at an event with Steph McGovern. The couple got engaged in 2022 and had a small wedding in Buckinghamshire last year. Upon returning to work after the wedding, Kirkwood said she wouldn't change a thing about the day.
