The WRITE STUFF

Carol Kirkwood has been awake for almost 13 hours and has just finished a live broadcast from Wimbledon in sweltering heat when she calls TV Times for an exclusive chat at 3.30pm on a Monday in June.

- 

Long, busy days aren’t unusual for the weather presenter, though. As a mainstay on BBC Breakfast since the late 1990s, Carol's alarm has long been set for 2.45am to make sure she’s on time to deliver the forecast to the nation. And alongside her onscreen commitments, she’s also written four bestselling romance novels – Under a Greek Moon, The Hotel on the Riviera, Secrets of the Villa Amore and Once Upon a Time in Venice - with a fifth, Meet Me at Sunset, set to be published on Thursday 17 July.

Here, Carol, 63, tells us all about putting pen to paper...

When you were growing up, did you ever dream about being a weather presenter or a novelist one day?

Actually, I wanted to be a Blue Peter presenter! Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, television seemed so glamorous, and the presenters always seemed to be having so much fun doing their jobs. And it’s true, we do have fun.

I also loved writing essays and stories. I read a lot, too. I loved Jackie Collins and Jilly Cooper novels as a teenager.