BBC Breakfast viewers were asking where Charlie Stayt was as Carol Kirkwood had her emotional last show.
The 63-year-old delivered her final weather forecast on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning, and the star became choked up as she signed off from the BBC after nearly three decades with the broadcaster.
In the closing moments of the programme, Kirkwood was joined by her BBC Breakfast colleagues and, holding her husband’s hand, delivered an emotional farewell.
But some viewers noticed Stayt apparently wasn’t round the sofa.
“No Charlie,” one said, while another asked: “Where's Charlie?”
Another added: “No Charlie has he been sacked?”
However, Stayt did appear minutes earlier on the programme - as he did pre-record a tribute for Kirkwood, as he hosted his own spin-off on the weather forecast.
“Interesting fact, me and you were born within days of each other, and we’ve been good friends ever since,” he said.
“We’re going to miss you Carol,” he said.
It’s believed Stayt is on annual leave. The Standard have contacted the BBC for comment.
Fighting back tears on the programme, Kirkwood thanked audiences for “letting me be a part of your lives”.
“This is a forecast I’ve known for quite a while was coming, but that doesn’t make it easier to present because after 28 years as s a BBC weather presenter, tracking storms, chasing sunshine and occasionally getting it completely wrong, I'm saying goodbye,” she began.
“When I first walked into this 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 I do, but one thing has never changed, and that is the privilege and honour of being welcomed into your homes.
“Thank you for trusting me – you’ve been the constant in all of this and I’ve never taken that for granted. I’m really going to miss you,” she continued.
Kirkwood announced in January that she would be leaving the BBC after 28 years with the broadcaster.
At the time, she said it had not “been an easy decision to make” but that it "feels like the right moment to step away".
Kirkwood joined the BBC Weather Centre in April 1998, initially appearing on the BBC News channel before becoming a regular on BBC One. She has been the main weather presenter on BBC Breakfast since 2010.
