Carol Kirkwood looked in great spirits as she stepped out after her final BBC Breakfast show – despite Naga Munchetty‘s brutal parting dig at her.
Carol, 63, fought back tears in January as she revealed that she was leaving the Beeb in April, after more than 25 years with the broadcaster.
The BBC weather legend, who joined the team in 1997, waved goodbye to her co-stars on Wednesday’s episode of the show.
And after the last show she was seen leaving her hotel in Manchester on Thursday and was loading all of her flowers and parting gifts into a waiting car.
She looked casual in a navy tracksuit and black leggings and was beaming from ear to ear.
During her last day in the studio, Carol chatted to presenters of the day Jon Kay and Sally Nugent, and was also joined by her co-stars Naga, Nina Warhurst, Peter Ruddick and John Watson.
Naga couldn’t help but have one final jokey dig at Carol before she headed off, as the pair have been known to exchange humorous blows on our screens over the years.
After playing some of Carol’s best bits, Naga jokingly told her: ‘I am just waiting for the countdown for you to go!’
Carol Kirkwood looked in great spirits as she stepped out after her final BBC Breakfast show – despite Naga Munchetty’s brutal parting dig at her
And after the last show she was seen leaving her hotel in Manchester on Thursday and was loading all of her flowers and parting gifts into a waiting car
Everyone burst into laughter in the studio, but those watching at home weren’t so impressed.
Taking to social media, some viewers wrote: ‘Maybe Naga and Carol really didn’t get on…’; ‘Where was Naga Munchetty’s tribute to Carol Kirkwood amongst all the others on her last day presenting the weather on?’
Another said: ‘Naga didn’t do a pre recorded solo tribute like the other newsreaders did who’ve worked with her for years. Instead she tried her usual gotcha tactics to embarrass Carol.’
But one pointed out: ‘Naga was there and gave her the Little Miss Sunshine picture.’
Naga continued: ‘So here is a rare glimpse into me being lovely to you… So what do we call you? Not off-air! On-air. Little Miss Sunshine maybe?’
She continued: ‘We’ve been seeing these VTs all day, tributes, we all think you’re great, secretly. We know when we say to anyone ‘Carol is off’, they go, ‘Oh my goodness. No!’
‘You know the little Mr Men? What would we all be? Sleepy? Little Miss Sleepy? I think as Adam Hargreaves depicted, Little Miss Sunshine.’
The broadcaster then handed her a beautiful painting of the character.
Carol delivered her final BBC Breakfast weather forecasts after three decades on screen with the broadcaster – and left her fans emotional as she struggled to hold back tears.
She struggled to get her words out as she announced the news alongside co-stars Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, admitting she ‘loves her job’ but was keen to spend more time with her husband, police officer Steve Randall.
But the presenter appeared to hold it together as she delivered her final forecast, even as she was met with loving well-wishes in a VT from her fellow BBC co-stars.
Carol joined Sally and Jon in the studio for the last time, smiling for the cameras as she revealed what Britons could expect from the weather this week.
Naga couldn’t help but have one final jokey dig at Carol before she headed off, as the pair have been known to exchange humorous blows on our screens over the years
After playing some of Carol’s best bits, Naga jokingly told her: ‘I am just waiting for the countdown for you to go!’
She also sat with them on the sofa at the end of her broadcast, where they thanked her for providing details for a ‘few days ahead’ so they could continue to have a ‘Carol forecast’ even after her departure.
Sally began: ‘I don’t know if you know Carol, but you have changed the way weather is reported on television in lots of ways, whether you’re on the map or out on location, whether you’re meeting our viewers…
‘You’ve been broadcasting from massive events over the years.’
Carol went on to list: ‘The Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon, the poppies at the Tower of London, Royal Ascot, there have been so many.’
The BBC then played an emotional VT from other stars at the BBC sending Carol their well-wishes, including Sue Barker, Vicky McClure, Paul Merton, Zoe Ball, Clare Balding, Chris Evans and Sir Chris Hoy.
A second tribute VT also featured Charlie Stayt, Louise Minchin, Sian Williams, Susanna Reid and Dan Walker gush over ‘lovely, kind and caring’ Carol.
The messages included telling Carol she was a ‘ray of sunshine’, ‘great friend’ and told her how she ‘brought smiles to so much of the nation’ as they predicted that audiences would ‘really miss her’.
Sally and Jon also surprised Carol with a message from Canadian rockstar Bryan Adams, who thanked her for ‘all the great weather reports over the years’, leaving her in shock.
‘That was lovely,’ Carol gushed over the series of videos as it came to an end, adding: ‘It’s lovely to have made such brilliant friends, all genuinely lovely people.’
Jon then read out some of the messages sent in by viewers for Carol, who admitted they were emotional to wave goodbye to the weather presenter.
One wrote in: ‘We’re gong to miss Carol so much, she rarely misses Shetland in the forecast and we always appreciate that. We wish her all best wishes.’
A second said: ‘I hope Carol enjoys her last shift at the BBC, she has been a steady presence for us in a chaotic world.’
And more wrote: ‘Carol, thanks you for being a bright star on many a dull morning’; ‘Your smile has brightened up every forecast no matter what the weather BBC Breakfast won’t be the same without you’; ‘Good luck Carol Kirkwood… she’s a national treasure and BBC Breakfast won’t be the same without her’; ‘Best wishes Carol in your retirement’; ‘You are an icon and I will miss you very much, sweet lady.’
Carol admitted it hadn’t quite hit her that she was leaving the show, adding: ‘I’m in denial, and I expect I will rock up on Monday…
‘It’s going to be weird, it’s going to be weird not speaking to all our lovely audience, not seeing the crew both in front and behind the camera not just on BBC Breakfast but at BBC Weather.
‘It’s going to be different and I’m going to miss everyone horribly.’
The trio also looked back on Carol’s career, from being a production assistant on BBC Breakfast before becoming the resident meteorologist for three decades.
Just before Carol waved goodbye to the show, she was joined by her husband Steve with a cake and a large bunch of flowers.
She concluded: ‘I’m going to try and get through this. This is a forecast I’ve known for quite a while was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier to present.
‘After 28 years as a BBC weather presenter, tracking storms, chasing sunshine, and occasionally getting it completely wrong, I’m saying goodbye.
Carol, 63, fought back tears in January as she revealed that she was leaving the Beeb in April, after more than 25 years with the broadcaster
‘When I first walked into this studio, I could never have imagined what was ahead. Back then the graphics were simpler, the maps were a bit 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. Thank you for trusting me, be it telling you about heatwaves or snow, to big national events and the everyday question of: ‘Do I need to take a brolly?’
‘You’ve been the constant in all of this, and I’ve never taken that for granted. I’m really going to miss you… I owe you all so much.
‘This job has given me so much more than a career, it’s given me memories, I’ll carry them forever. Friendships I treasure deeply.
‘It’s time for a new chapter, a bit more time with Steve, and perhaps the luxury of watching the weather instead of presenting it. Thank you for letting me be part of your lives.’
Back in March, Carol explained: ‘My last shift on air will be on April 1, and it’s not an April Fools! I can’t believe it’s coming around so quickly…’
Joking about the final eight early starts she would have to endure before exiting the programme, Carol added: ‘First thing I’ll do is throw my alarm in the bin.’
‘Oh it’s going to be sad,’ she continued. ‘It’s a really happy thing as well, but I’m going to miss you guys and everyone, the viewers as well.’
Carol broke down as she made the announcement that she was leaving, explaining that she ‘loved her husband more than her job’.
