- published: 24 Sep 2013
- views: 131383
Carol Kirkwood (born 29 May 1962) is a Scottish weather presenter, employed by the Met Office and best known for forecasting the weather for BBC Breakfast.
Kirkwood was born Carol MacKellaig in Morar, Invernessshire, Scotland. She was one of eight children and her parents ran a hotel in Morar; she was a Girl Guide. After attending Lochaber High School in Fort William, Carol gained a BA in commerce from Napier University in Edinburgh.
After graduation, Kirkwood joined the BBC's Secretarial Reserve in London and after a series of internal moves presented short slots on BBC Radio Scotland, and then BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4. She subsequently worked as an Associate Director in recruitment and as training consultant for a management consultancy in Cheshire.
Kirkwood rejoined the BBC at Elstree Studios training department in 1993 as a freelance presenter, during which time she presented a bi-monthly programme Talking Issues for HTV West. In 1996 Kirkwood joined the new UK operation of The Weather Channel, but after it closed down in January 1998 she underwent training under the guidance of the BBC at the Met Office, before joining BBC News as a weather presenter. She has appeared regularly on BBC One, BBC News, BBC World News, BBC Red Button and the BBC News at Six, and has been the main weather presenter on BBC Breakfast since 2008.