BBC Breakfast viewers delighted as beloved presenter returns following break

Nicky Morris
·5-min read
Charlie Stayt, Carol Kirkwood, Naga Munchetty, Jon Kay, Sally Nugent on the red sofa as BBC Breakfast celebrates its 40th anniversary
Charlie Stayt, Carol Kirkwood, Naga Munchetty, Jon Kay, Sally Nugent on the red sofa as BBC Breakfast celebrates its 40th anniversary (Danny Lawson - PA Images)

BBC Breakfast viewers were pleased to see Carol Kirkwood back on their screens following a brief break from the programme.

The weather presenter, who has been off for over a week, returned on Monday morning and joined hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay in the Media City studio.

Carol received a warm welcome from her co-stars. After Jon introduced the weather update, Sally said: "Morning Carol, welcome back!"

carol kirkwood in bbc breakfast studio in front of weather screen
Carol Kirkwood returned to screens on Monday following a brief break (BBC)

Carol responded: "Thank you Sal, it's good to be back!"

The 61-year-old also took to Twitter, now X, to mark her return to the show. Carol often shares posts on her social media page in the mornings that she gets up early for BBC Breakfast.

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At 5.22am, Carol wrote: "Good morning," adding two red heart emojis.

Carol Kirkwood peach dress
Fans were pleased to see Carol back on the show (getty)

Her fans clearly missed waking up to Carol's weather updates every morning and took to the comments section to welcome her back. One person wrote: "Welcome Back Carol and good morning x," while another added: "Good morning. Missed you!"

A third person tweeted: "Morning Carol,  nice to have you back."

The line-up of BBC Breakfast presenters

Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty on BBC Breakfast
(BBC)

  1. Charlie Stayt

    The journalist joined BBC Breakfast back in 2006 and now hosts the show alongside Naga Munchetty from Thursday to Saturday. Prior to joining the BBC, Charlie was the principal anchor of Five News, fronting the programme's 9/11 coverage and Millennium celebrations.

  2. Naga Munchetty

    The presenter joined the line-up of main presenters in 2014. Before landing a role on BBC Breakfast, she appeared on BBC World News, as well as BBC Two's weekday financial affairs programme, Working Lunch.

  3. Sally Nugent

    Sally has been a main presenter on the show since 2021, replacing Louise Minchin following her departure after 20 years. Sally previously worked as a sports presenter on the show and covered various major sporting events for the BBC, including Emma Raducanu's historic victory in the US Open tennis championship in 2021.

  4. Jon Kay

    The newsreader and journalist took over from Dan Walker following his exit in 2022. He previously worked as a news correspondent for BBC News at Six and covered major events such as the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 general election campaign.

  5. Carol Kirkwood

    Carol is the show's main weather presenter and has been waking up the nation with the weather forecast on the BBC for 30 years.

  6. Nina Warhurst

    Nina is the show's main business presenter, having taken over from Steph McGovern in 2020. She often fills in as an anchor on the red sofa when the main hosts are absent.

  7.  Ben Thompson

    Ben is a relief presenter and regularly stands in for the main hosts when they are away from the red sofa. He can also be seen on BBC News.

  8. John Watson

    John is a sports presenter and has been working for the BBC since 2012, providing viewers will all the latest sports news and stories.

During her time away from the show, Carol no doubt enjoyed spending some time at home with her fiancé Steve Randall.

Carol Kirkwood and partner Steve Randall at The Radio Times Covers Party at Claridge's Hotel
Carol is engaged to former police officer Steve Randall (Can Nguyen/Shutterstock)

The couple became engaged last year and Carol made the joyous announcement during a live weather segment from the Chelsea Flower Show. Watch the moment in the video below.

Telling HELLO! about the beautiful proposal in an exclusive interview, Carol explained that Steve took her by surprise. "It was a lovely, sunny day and we had taken a picnic with us, and we were sitting by the river, watching the boats going by," she described. "I turned to say, 'What's wrong?' He was on his knee, and he proposed. At first, I thought he was joking, but he said, 'No no, I really do mean it, Will you marry me?' I said: 'Yes!! Of course!'"

MORE: Carol Kirkwood's home life away from BBC Breakfast cameras

READ: BBC Breakfast star Charlie Stayt's private home life with wife Anne and two children – details

Carol and Steve met whilst the weather star was in her 50s, and were good friends before the relationship turned romantic.

carol kirkwood steve boat
Carol and Steve were friends before things turned romantic (Photo: Twitter)

"That was nice because it just kind of happened," she told Closer magazine. "Neither of us were looking for romance and there it was, it just evolves. It's so lovely. Who'd have thought that at this ripe old age, I'd be getting married again? I certainly didn't."

Carol's return comes just weeks before the star is set to head off on an exciting journey away from the show. The presenter will embark on a steam train journey across her home country of Scotland, beginning at the foothills of Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, and ending on the shores of the Atlantic next to Loch Nevis.

Carol will be joined by fans on the excursion, which features boat rides, a trip on The Falkirk Wheel boat lift and two cruises. Carol will also give an exclusive talk, and is expected to join fans for a day of their trip.

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