Kirkwood

The star told what lay behind her dropping one and a half dress sizes reaching a svelt size eight

Carol Kirkwood is well known in front of the camera. As a BBC weather anchor and best selling author she was known for her curvy figure and had even spoken of plans to lose weight.

However, it took something out of her control for the pounds to suddenly drop off. It was at the start of 2025 that she suddenly found herself struck down by a “terrible” illness which led her to drop around one and half dress sizes.

The now 63-year-old developed a tough bout of food poisoning which saw her losing weight and led to a complete switch in her lifestyle. This not only changed her eating habits but transformed her complete outlook on life and what she ate.

The presenter announced on Tuesday she is quitting the broadcaster after more than 25 years to spend more time with her husband, Steve Randall, who she married in 2023. She said the two have been “like ships that pass in the night” thanks to her early starts.

But she previously told how her life changed after suffering food poisoning. She told OK magazine: “Afterwards, I just ate two slices of toast for two days and I wasn’t hungry.

“I’m a snacker. I love chocolate, a glass of wine, crisps, and I thought, ‘Right, you don’t need all this food’. Now I eat when I’m hungry rather than just eating because I can.”

The star did not say how much weight she’s lost saying at the time “my weight is a state secret” but admitted that she was “probably a dress size-and-a-half” smaller. She said she now fitted comfortably into a size 10, and sometimes even an eight.

She said: “I’ve got lots of clothes from years of doing telly. When I couldn’t get into them, I put them away. Now I can. It feels like I’ve got a whole new wardrobe, but I don’t. It’s old clothes that I’m wearing again.”

Carol said she had now discovered how to balance what she ate. She said: “I’ve done every single diet going but now I’m not depriving myself of anything. If I want a piece of chocolate, I’ll have it, but then I actually don’t. It’s like somebody’s flipped a switch in my head.

She told how her day starts at 2.45am. She added: “By 9.30am, if I’m a bit peckish, I’ll have an apple or a banana, then, after my shift, I get home and eat whatever the dickens I want, perhaps a toasted pitta with rocket, tomatoes, sweetcorn, peppers and chicken. In the evening, I might have another pitta with hummus, or some peppers with hummus and, because I’m eating this way, I’m not hungry between meals any more.”

She also was quick to quash any rumours that she had used weight-loss injections. She said: “I have had a couple of emails saying, ‘It’s obvious you’re doing this.’ Each to their own. If somebody wants to do that, I’m not going to judge them — it’s their bodies, their life — but I’m glad I’m doing it this way,” she insists.

The star will leave the BBC in April and today explained her reason behind the decision. She told presenters Sally Nugent and Jon Kay: “I love my job, I’ve loved working at the BBC, but I love my husband more than my job. More than everyone, I should say.

“We only got married a couple of years ago and we’re ships that pass in the night so I’m so looking forward to [spending more time together]. The future is rosy and the time is right, absolutely right for me to go.”

After starting her BBC presenting career on the News channel, Kirkwood went on to appear regularly on BBC One. She has been the main weather presenter on BBC Breakfast since 2010.

As well as fronting the daily bulletins, Kirkwood often presented the weather on location, including from Wimbledon, the Chelsea Flower Show and royal events. She has also reported for The One Show and competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, reaching week eight with her partner Pasha Kovalev.