Tearful Carol Kirkwood got choked up as she signed off from the BBC after nearly three decades with the broadcaster.
The 63-year-old delivered her final weather forecast on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning, prompting tributes from viewers and presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent.
The special programme featured messages from a host of familiar faces, including singer Bryan Adams, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and former BBC Breakfast presenter Susanna Reid.
Kirkwood was also reunited with the dog that famously pulled her off screen during a live broadcast from the Chelsea Flower Show in 2021.
Earlier in the week, she had finally met Larry the Cat, the resident tabby of 10 Downing Street — one notable figure she had yet to encounter.
There was a further surprise when her husband, police officer Steve Randall, appeared in the studio with a large bouquet of flowers.
“You told me you weren’t coming in! You’re in trouble,” she joked.
Randall said it would be “the best thing ever” to have more time together, not least because he has long shared her early starts, rising at 2.45am to make her tea before she left for work.
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.
Fighting back tears, she 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.
Looking ahead, she added: “As for what comes next, for once I don't have a detailed forecast – but I do know this: it's time for a new chapter and perhaps the luxury of watching the weather instead of presenting it.
“Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives.”
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.
