She has long been a familiar face on TV channels, bringing news of the weather to homes across the country.

Carol Kirkwood plans to retire in two years

However, presenter Carol Kirkwood has revealed she hopes to retire in as little as two years so she can drive off into the sunset with her policeman husband.

The 63-year-old has been a fixture at the BBC for 27 years but has said she is planning a change of scene for her and partner Steve Randall, 49, when she turns 65.

Discussing her retirement hopes, Ms Kirkwood, who is also a published author, said: ‘We fell in love with Majorca, which is where we went so I could research my fifth novel, Meet Me at Sunset, about a woman running away from a shattered love affair.

‘Steve and I plan to escape and travel for some time when we retire, perhaps in a year or two.

‘We’ll travel in a camper van or get in the car, cross over to France and then just drive.’

Ms Kirkwood, from Morar, Lochaber, was married to property developer Jimmy Kirkwood but the pair split in 2008 after 18 years of marriage, with the divorce finalised in 2012.

She recently made a cheeky comment when asked about her second marriage, telling one newspaper: ‘Love is lovelier the second time around. No disrespect to my first husband, but this is better.’


Carol Kirkwood is looking forward to the day she can retire and travel with husband Steve


The TV  star said she and husband Steve would explore parts of Europe in a camper van

Ms Kirkwood, who was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, began her career at the BBC as a secretary before cross training with the Met Office and joining BBC News in 1998.

She appears regularly across all of BBC Weather’s output on both radio and TV and is the main weather presenter on BBC Breakfast.

The TV star, who is 14 years older than her husband, also spoke about the age gap in her relationship, stating it makes no difference to her.

She told Saga Magazine: ‘Steve is 50 this year. Other people’s opinions about an age gap don’t matter – I don’t feel he is younger than me.’

She also said she believes that meeting him was fate.

She said: ‘We were at a function neither of us wanted to go to. It was a Sliding Doors moment – if I hadn’t gone, we would never have met.’

Discussing her relationship in another interview, Ms Kirkwood had said: ‘Love is lovelier the second time around.

‘The wedding was the most perfect day. Storm Gerrit was raging outside and we didn’t even notice.

‘It was about us getting married rather than having a big, fancy wedding. We had no guests and wrote our own vows.

‘When you are older, you know more what you want.’