Carol Kirkwood has opened up about the gruelling early-morning starts that made her BBC Breakfast role 'torture' during winter months, after leaving the programme in April following 28 years. The weather presenter, 63, said she threw her alarm clock in the bin the day after her final forecast on 1 April.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Kirkwood revealed she had to set her alarm for 2:45am every day. 'It's not too bad in the summer but the winter months are torture,' she said. 'For years now, I've suffered from a low-grade version of jet lag.'
Despite the difficult hours, Kirkwood insisted she had no real complaints about her career. 'I'm not a nurse on a cancer ward. I'm not a first responder who has to run into a fire rather than away from it,' she said. 'I've loved my job but I love my husband more, and now I want us to be more than ships that pass in the night.'
Kirkwood married Steve Randall in 2023, and said one of the main reasons for leaving was to spend more quality time with him. Reflecting on her first marriage to Jimmy Kirkwood, which ended in 2008, she said: 'Sadly, my first marriage unravelled after 25 years. I never thought it would happen and I never thought I'd find happiness again. Then I met Steve… Whoever said that love is lovelier the second time around got it dead right.'
Looking ahead, Kirkwood said she wants to spend 'undiluted time' with her husband and tick off destinations from her travel wish list, including the Italian Lakes, Route 66, Graceland, Nashville and Dollywood. She also hopes to return to Australia to visit nephews.
In her final broadcast, Kirkwood told viewers: 'When I first walked into the studio, I could never have imagined the journey ahead. Back then, the graphics were simpler, the maps were clunkier and I had a lot less grey hair than this. But one thing has never changed and that is the privilege and honour of being welcomed into your homes.'
