BBC Breakfast weather presenter Carol Kirkwood has opened up about her time on Strictly Come Dancing, a decade after wowing audiences in 2015. Back then, the 63-year-old joined the competition alongside professional dancer Pasha Kovalev, and the duo stayed in the show until week seven.

Speaking to Gary Davies on Radio Two, Carol fondly recalled her memories on the dancefloor. When asked if she still keeps in touch with fellow contestants from that year, she revealed that she does—particularly with Jeremy Vine.

“I remember Jeremy and I were standing in what was called Claudia’s Tower, looking down, and Helen George, who was also competing that year, was performing the most beautiful, elegant Waltz,” Carol said. “I turned to him and said, ‘Jeremy, we might as well just enjoy the short time we’re going to have on this show,’ and we did!”

However, Carol admitted that juggling rehearsals with her morning weather reports was far from easy. “When you look back on it, you think, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’ It was joyous, but it was really hard work because I was doing Breakfast Monday to Friday at the same time. I was exhausted!” she confessed.

Despite the challenge, Carol praised her dance partner Pasha Kovalev, calling him “a gent and a really, really nice man.” She also laughed about the struggles during rehearsals, recalling how she often mixed up her left and right legs with Pasha. “He’d make me laugh. Sometimes I’d say, ‘Pasha, I can’t do this, I haven’t got this,’ and he’d say, ‘Oh don’t worry, you’ll get it tomorrow.’ Just chilled!”

Carol also jokingly denied being a natural dancer, quipping that she felt like a “cart horse” on the dancefloor.

As Strictly fans eagerly await the announcement of this year’s celebrity lineup, speculation is already swirling around names like Dani Dyer, Stacey Solomon, Ashley Cain, and Paul Brunson. The official lineup is expected to be revealed over the next few weeks, but for Carol, the memories of her own Strictly journey remain as vivid and joyful as ever.