Kirkwood, 63, said she has \u201cloved every minute\u201d of her time with the corporation, and said her decision to leave wasn\u2019t \u201can easy\u201d one to make. <\/p>\n
She made the announcement during Tuesday\u2019s (27 January) episode of BBC Breakfast and became emotional as she explained her decision to presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard for me to say this because I love my job, I love all of you guys, my weather colleagues, all of the viewers,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to be coming in on a zimmer frame going, \u2018I can\u2019t reach the Northern Isles anymore.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, she added: \u201cIt feels like the right moment to step away. I’ll carry with me the most wonderful memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kirkwood](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2024-10-10-093417.jpg\")
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Kirkwood has been the main \u2018BBC Breakfast\u2019 weather presenter since 2010 (BBC)<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job is something I’ve never taken for granted and I’ve loved every minute,\u201d Kirkwood continued. \u201cFrom 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo those watching and listening at home \u2013 thank you for all the kindness you have shown me over the years, being part of your mornings has been a joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirkwood will leave the BBC in April.<\/p>\n
BBC Breakfast presenter Nugent shared a tribute to her colleague on Instagram, writing: \u201cWe have laughed (a lot) through life\u2019s dramas, sunny holidays and broken TV graphics. And now she\u2019s off for adventures with her gorgeous husband Steve and to write more of her brilliant books.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will miss her in the mornings,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut I cannot wait for Carol\u2019s next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kirkwood](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-27-at-08-22-48.png\")
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Kirkwood will remain on our screens until the spring (Getty)<\/p>\n
Fans have shared their sadness at Kirkwood\u2019s exit in the comments on BBC Breakfast\u2019s Instagram page, with one writing: \u201cReally felt for you as you fought back tears! You will be missed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCouldn\u2019t be more delighted for you Carol, but honestly I\u2019m devastated at this news!\u201d said another. \u201cYou are such a part of our mornings and they just won\u2019t be the same without you! Saying that I wish you nothing but the absolute best for your long and happy retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirkwood joined the BBC Weather Centre in April 1998 and began broadcasting on the BBC News channel, before making regular appearances on BBC One. She has been BBC Breakfast\u2019s main weather presenter since 2010.<\/p>\n
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Kirkwood has often presented bulletins from events such as Wimbledon and the Chelsea Flower Show, and reported for The One Show. In 2015, Kirkwood took part in Strictly Come Dancing and reached week eight of the competition with her professional partner Pasha Kovalev.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Munro, the interim CEO of BBC News, said: “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 \u2013 always delivered with an appropriately sunny outlook. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe will be greatly missed by teams across the BBC. We wish her all the best for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-253978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}