Naga Munchetty criticised for parting dig at Carol Kirkwood

Naga Munchetty has been criticised for a brutal parting dig at Carol Kirkwood during the weather presenter’s final appearance on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday. 

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.

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!’ 

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 as 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.

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.

‘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’. 

The Met Office-trained star choked up as she said: ‘So, I’m going to be leaving – and it’s really hard, really hard for me to say this because I love my job.

‘But it’s great – I don’t want to be coming in in my Zimmer frame and saying, “I can’t reach the Northern Isles anymore!”‘

Discussing spending more time with her husband, she added: ‘We only got married a couple of years ago and we’re like ships that pass in the night, so I’m looking forward to doing that.’

Carol had kept the news of her departure secret from everyone – including her friends and her colleagues at BBC Breakfast.

She added with a smile: ‘I love my job, I’ve loved working at the BBC, but I love my husband more than my job.’

Turning to Sally and Jon, she added: ‘I didn’t want to get emotional but you two are my friends and I love you dearly.’

As Carol finished delivering the news, Sally held her hand and Jon reached for a box of tissues before both gave her a tight hug.

Sally joked: ‘There’s one important thing that we haven’t mentioned, which is that you are going to get a lie in.’

Carol’s BBC career has regularly seen her go above and beyond the use of a clicker.

She has memorably reported on sunshine and showers at Wimbledon, the Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Ascot for BBC Breakfast, where she has been the main weather presenter since 2010.

And her sunny disposition has seen her laugh through the perils of live broadcasting, including being dragged to the ground by dogs on more than one occasion and laughing off a gaffe in which she called dog-walkers in Greenwich Park ‘doggers’.

Carol began her BBC career as a production secretary and production assistant on, ironically, BBC Breakfast – and had no plans to become a meteorologist, leaving the Corporation for a time to work in consultancy.

She then auditioned for and underwent training at The Weather Channel in the US to become a presenter on its short-lived UK edition, before she trained with the BBC and the Met Office to join the Corporation full-time.

She joined the BBC Weather Centre in 1998, and quickly became a familiar face to millions on BBC News and BBC Breakfast.

Her sparkling personality and endless on-screen charm has won her fans across the country, a collection of industry awards and wider recognition, including a place on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, where she reached week eight with Pasha Kovalev. 

Born Carol MacKellaig, she wed property developer Jimmy Kirkwood before announcing that they were separating in 2008 after nearly two decades.

The split left her crying between delivering forecasts – but, as she later revealed to the Radio Times, encouraged her to come out of her shell. 

She told the magazine: ‘I found myself when I got divorced. I started to do things and to think, “I’m not going to say no, I’m going to say yes!”

‘I’m braver now. I’ve flown with the Red Arrows, jumped out of planes with the Red Devils. When I was younger I would never have done that because I’d have thought, “Too dangerous!” Now I think, “Oh, you’ve got to live your life!”‘

She wed Steve in December 2023 at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, and the pair now live together in Windsor. 

She told House Beautiful magazine in July 2024: ‘If he’s at home, I’m happy. I don’t need anything else. He’s tall, handsome, kind, gentle, strong, funny, charming. 

‘He’s a gentleman. He’s good at cooking. I could wax lyrical about Steve forever.’

Carol had dropped hints that she might leave Breakfast last year – and in a written statement, she added that leaving the broadcaster ‘hasn’t been an easy decision to make’, but added it ‘feels like the right moment to step away’. 

She said: ‘It’s been an absolute privilege to bring you the weather every day. My job is something I’ve never taken for granted and I’ve loved every minute!

‘From early starts and all manner of forecasts, I’ve shared it with incredible colleagues at BBC Breakfast, BBC Weather and programmes across the BBC. I’d like to thank them for their support and friendship which has meant the world.

‘And to those watching and listening at home – thank you for all the kindness you have shown me over the years, being part of your mornings has been a joy. 

‘This hasn’t been an easy decision to make, but it feels like the right moment to step away. I’ll carry with me the most wonderful memories.’

Jonathan Munro, interim chief executive at BBC News and Current Affairs, said: ‘Carol’s contribution to BBC News and BBC Weather has been exceptional.

‘From major national moments to the everyday forecasts that are such an important part of our audiences’ lives, she has set the gold standard for our accurate, valued journalism – always delivered with an appropriately sunny outlook.

‘She will be greatly missed by teams across the BBC. We wish her all the best for the future.’

Breakfast airs weekdays from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.