Kirkwood

Wimbledon has opened its doors once again, but one familiar face won’t be returning

A familiar face won’t be returning to Wimbledon this year.

Thousands of tennis fans will flock to SW19 over the next two weeks as the Wimbledon Championships begin for another year.

Isa Guha returned to host the early morning BBC coverage on Monday (June 29), where she was joined by Tim Henman and Anne Keothavong. Sadly, one BBC legend won’t be joining them as part of the broadcaster’s coverage this year.

Carol Kirkwood, who usually covers the weather throughout the Championships, will not be on screen this year, after she stepped down from her role at BBC Breakfast back in April.

After an impressive 28-year career, Carol announced her retirement to focus on her marriage and travelling the world.

Isa paid tribute to Carol just minutes into Wimbledon’s coverage on Monday, saying: “Now, this is normally the time in the show that we head across to Carol Kirkwood for a British weather update, especially here in the sunshine.

“It would have been great to see her, but after 28 years on BBC Breakfast, Carol has moved on. So, we wish you all the best, Carol. Hopefully you’ve got your feet up on the sofa with a cup of tea to enjoy the tennis this week.”

Confirming Carol’s replacements, Isa continued: “Of course, there isn’t one presenter who could replace Carol, so we’re going to have a selection of BBC weather’s finest over the two weeks, including today with Matt Taylor.

“Welcome along, Matt. How is it looking today, and for the rest of the fortnight?”

Matt, who was stationed outside the training courts, then said: “Morning Isa. Absolute pleasure to be here, even if we are missing Carol. But I suspect eagle-eyed viewers may be able to spot her in the crowd somewhere today indulging in a love of tennis right here at Wimbledon itself.

“For her, for the crowds, also those warming up behind me, almost perfect conditions – certainly compared to the heat and humidity last week.”

As Carol enjoys the tennis, she will be replaced by a rotating roster of BBC weather stars, which is likely to include Sarah Keith-Lucas, Elizabeth Rizzini, Tomasz Schafernaker, and Helen Willetts.

There’s lots to look forward to at Wimbledon this year, as US icon Serena Williams is set to make a blockbuster singles comeback after four years away from the sport. She will also resume her iconic doubles pairing with her older sister, Venus.

British legend Andy Murray is also back at the scene of one of his greatest triumphs as part of Jack Draper’s coaching team.

Novak Djokovic is still chasing his elusive record 25th Grand Slam title, where he will face stiff competition from current World Number One Jannik Sinner.

Coverage of Wimbledon will air on BBC One and BBC Two, as well as being available to stream on BBC iPlayer

Carol Kirkwood’s career away from the cameras took her BBC co-star by surprise, following her recent exit from the corporation after 28 years

Carol Kirkwood has left her BBC co-star stunned by her career away from television. The former BBC Breakfast weather presenter bid farewell to the programme in April after 28 years at the corporation.

In a lengthy on-air statement at the time, the 63-year-old said: “Thank you for trusting me, be it telling you about heatwaves or snow, to the everyday question of, ‘Do I need to take a brolly?’. To my colleagues past and present, both in front and behind the camera, I owe you all so much. You’ve been my team, my safety net, and, very often, my family.

“We’ve shared breaking news, long shifts, plenty of laughter, bad hair days, and the occasional moment of pure chaos. And do you know what? I wouldn’t change a second of it.”

While she is best known for presenting the weather, Carol has also turned her hand to writing in recent years – much to the surprise of Carol Klein.

The Gardeners’ World host appeared taken aback when learning about Carol’s other career during an appearance on the Pottering with Tom Allen podcast.

After discussing the changing weather during the recording, she said: “That Carol Kirkwood, she’s lovely isn’t she, she’s a keen gardener.”

“She’s a great writer as well,” Tom chimed in, to which she appeared stun and questioned: “Is she?”. Tom went on to say: “She’s got a lot of novels out.”

“I haven’t read anything, I’ll have to,” the BBC star replied. Praising the books, Tom insisted they are a good read and “always set in lovely places”.

Recently speaking about her future after leaving the show, the weather presenter said she is looking forward to more freedom with her husband Steve Randall, who she married in 2023.

“The freedom of being able to get in the car, drive and go anywhere we want for as long as we want is really appealing,” she told the BBC.

She also revealed there was a more personal reason behind her decision. “I’m not getting any younger, I’m newly married and we’ve had some losses in our lives recently,” Carol added.

She went on to say those experiences had helped her realise that she needed to “get on with my retirement and that’s what I’m going to do”.

However, retirement doesn’t mean she’s stopped working altogether. Her sixth romance novel is set to be published in October, and she has reportedly already committed to writing at least two more books afterwards.

The television star has also said she would love to learn the guitar and adopt a couple of cats.

BBC Breakfast airs daily from around 6am on BBC One and the BBC News channel.

The high-powered Indy cars that will be racing in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach will burn about two gallons of fuel on each of their 90 trips around the tight 1.968-mile street course.

So if all 27 cars that start the race also finish it, the field will use 4,860 gallons of fuel. And that doesn’t include the fuel used in qualifying or in the other five classifications of cars that will be participating in the three days of racing in Long Beach.

That’s a lot of fuel for drivers who will end up in the same place they started, especially when seven weeks of war in the Middle East has driven the price of gasoline to record highs. However, the fuel the IndyCar series uses differs significantly from what that comes out of the pump at the gas station.

“This year marks the fourth season that IndyCar has used 100% renewable race fuel for the NTT IndyCar Series — the first motorsport series in North America to utilize this type of fuel,” an IndyCar spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Developed through a collaboration with Shell, this innovative fuel consists of a blend of second-generation ethanol derived from sugarcane waste and other biofuels mainly derived from animal waste. The use of this renewable race fuel enables a 60% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.”

So while driving Indy cars 177 miles in a circle may seem wasteful during a gas crunch, Sunday’s race will have a negligible affect on the price and availability of fuel at service stations. The greater impact will be made by fans driving to Long Beach; last year’s three-day race weekend drew more than 200,000 people.