Carol Kirkwood

Carol Anne Kirkwood (née MacKellaig; born 29 May 1962) is a retired Scottish weather presenter. She was trained by the Met Office and worked for the BBC between 1998 and 2026. She is best known for being the main weather presenter for BBC Breakfast for over 25 years. She is also a published author.

Early life Kirkwood was born as Carol MacKellaig on 29 May 1962 in Morar, Inverness-shire; she was one of eight children (two boys and six girls) to parents who were hoteliers in Morar. She was brought up as a Roman Catholic. After attending Lochaber High School in Fort William, she gained a BA in commerce from Napier College of Commerce and Technology (now Edinburgh Napier University) in Edinburgh.

Career After graduation, she joined the BBC's secretarial reserve in London. In the summer of 1983, she became a production secretary on Breakfast Time and then a production assistant. After a series of internal moves, she presented short slots on BBC Radio Scotland, and then BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4. She then left the BBC and subsequently worked in recruitment and then as a training consultant for a management consultancy in Cheshire.

Kirkwood rejoined the BBC at the corporation's Elstree Studios training department in 1993 as a freelance presenter, during which time she also presented a bi-monthly programme Talking Issues for HTV West. She also presented the weather on BBC Radio 2's The Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

It was announced on 27 January 2026 that Kirkwood would be leaving the BBC in April 2026. She presented her final weather forecast on 1 April.

Other activities Kirkwood has appeared as a guest on CBBC's show Hacker Time. In October 2018, Kirkwood had a cameo appearance on Hollyoaks.

Strictly Come Dancing

In August 2015, it was announced that Kirkwood would be taking part in the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, which began in September 2015. She was partnered with professional dancer Pasha Kovalev.

Personal life

She was previously married to Jimmy Kirkwood. She announced her engagement to her new partner, Steve Randall, live on BBC Breakfast from the Chelsea Flower Show, on 23 May 2022. They were married at Cliveden in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, on 27 December 2023 and live in Bray, Berkshire.

Awards Kirkwood won the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) award for best TV Weather Presenter in 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2012–2017.

TV appearances BBC Breakfast (1998–2026) – Weather presenter The Great British Weather – Co-presenter Hacker Time – Guest The Weather Show – Presenter The One Show – Reporter Would I Lie to You? (2013) – Guest, 1 episode Victoria Derbyshire (2015–2020) – Weather presenter Strictly Come Dancing (2015) – Participant Hollyoaks (2018) – Cameo appearance as Weather presenter The People vs Climate Change (2021) – Narrator Saturday Kitchen (2022) – Guest, 1 episode

Books Under a Greek Moon (HarperCollins, 2021) The Hotel on the Riviera (HarperCollins, 2022) Secrets of the Villa Amore (HarperCollins, 2023) Once Upon a Time in Venice (HarperCollins, 2024) Meet Me at Sunset (HarperCollins, 2025) The Christmas Invitation (HarperCollins, 2026)