BBC’s Carol Kirkwood plans to quit broadcaster as she finds love with younger husband

BBC Breakfast star Carol Kirkwood has been on our screens for 27 years, but the much-loved weather presenter has hinted she may quit the show in a couple of years

BBC Breakfast’s beloved weather presenter, Carol Kirkwood, has shared her plans to retire when she turns 65 and embark on a European adventure with her younger husband.

The 63 year old has been a staple of our morning routine for the past 27 years, but it seems she won’t be celebrating her 30th anniversary on the show.

Carol revealed that she and her husband Steve Randall have their sights set on a sunset escape.

“We fell in love with Majorca, which is where we went so I could research my fifth novel, Meet Me at Sunset, about a woman running away from a shattered love affair,” she shared. “Steve and I also plan to escape and travel for some time when we retire, perhaps in a year or two. We’ll either travel in a camper van, or get in the car, cross over to France and just drive.”

Over the years, Carol has amassed a legion of loyal fans who will undoubtedly be saddened by her decision to step down when she reaches the typical retirement age, reports the Mirror.

The television personality isn’t fazed by the age difference between her and her husband, a police officer. She told Saga Magazine: “Steve is 50 this year. Other people’s opinions about an age gap don’t matter – I don’t feel he is younger than me.”

Carol and Steve tied the knot at Cliveden House two years ago in an intimate ceremony. She expressed that finding love with Steve, when she wasn’t actively seeking it, was purely fortuitous.

“Meeting my husband Steve was fate,” she shared with Saga Magazine. “We were at a function neither of us wanted to go to. It was a Sliding Doors moment – if I hadn’t gone, we would never have met.

“We chatted, he gave me his number, and ages later, we met for coffee. He was only a friend before we became involved. I wasn’t looking for a romance; I was happy being single. After a 25-year marriage, I needed to find myself.”

Carol was previously wedded to property developer Jimmy Kirwood for 18 years from 1990 and described their divorce as “devastating” at the time. But since settling down with Steve, she has expressed how content she feels.

Last year she declared: “Love is lovelier the second time around. No disrespect to my first husband, but this is better.”

She revealed that Steve popped the question on a riverbank near their home in Berkshire. “Although we’d talked about getting married, it still came as a shock,” she confessed.

“Our wedding at Cliveden House was the most perfect day. Storm Gerrit was raging outside and we didn’t even notice. It was about us getting married rather than having a big, fancy wedding. We had no guests and wrote our own vows, which was really emotional. When you are older, you know more what you want.”