Carol Kirkwood explains how BBC Breakfast stays on top despite changes

Kirkwood said: "I've seen all the different changes that breakfast has gone through, including all the different presenters that have gone through it. And it's really nice how it's evolved.

"I think the things that remain the same are still very much the family aspect of it and the relationship between us all, which is really friendly and nice and, in my opinion, what you want to see in the morning."

When asked how the show has managed to stay as the UK's most watched morning news programme despite so many changes in the presenting roster over the years, Kirkwood credits its success to "the blend of presenters and the blend of news and stories that we have", meaning "everything is still topical".

She explained: "The first thing if you tune in, you'll get the news headlines, you’ll get the weather, you’ll get the sport headlines, you’ll get business headlines... so you can grab everything that you want from it if you've only got a couple of minutes at the top of the hour.

"And then you get what we call the news belt, when you get the news in brief and things start opening out more. So you've got everything that you want in a programme – you can grab it quickly or you can stay with us and it will develop as we go through the morning [and] you'll get a bit more information."

When it came to the current presenting team, including Naga Munchetty, Charlie Stayt, Jon Kay and Sally Nugent, Kirkwood had nothing but positive comments.

She said: "I'm only ever going to say - and actually, it's true - they’re all lovely. I mean, Sally and I are old friends from many moons ago. When Sally was a reporter we would go out sometimes on locations together. She's an absolute pleasure to work with and she's a lot of fun, and she's a very good journalist.

"But so are all the others as well, Jon and Naga and Charlie, they're all brilliant, and we're all friends off screen as well as on screen. And everybody has each other's backs. I know sometimes I tell a joke and nobody laughs, but they will all try and rescue the situation so I don’t feel like a complete idiot, which is really nice.

"And they say to me, ‘So it's gonna be really wet everywhere today’, because it's been wet perhaps where they were. I say, ‘Well, yes, it's wet in Manchester this morning, in Salford, but for the rest of the country...’ You never want to throw anybody under the bus because they're your friends and colleagues and they're engaging you."

Today (17th January 2023), BBC Breakfast will feature a number of special segments to celebrate the programme's birthday, including one in which Kirkwood shares some special stories and memories.

She will also be joined by the first ever Breakfast Time weather presenter Francis Wilson, with the pair set to give a unique weather report together.

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