BBC Breakfast's Carol Kirkwood gives rare health update after struggling through weather report - and is flooded with support from concerned fans

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BBC Breakfast star Carol Kirkwood finally shared a health update with viewers on Tuesday.

Fans have recently noticed Carol, 62, struggling with a hoarse voice and cough while presenting the weather. 

During the show, when Carol handed off back to hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, Sally told Carol: 'Your voice nearly lasted to the very end there, Carol, well done!'

Carol then clarified: 'I know. It's this pesky 100-day cough. It just keeps giving. It won't go.'

Known medically as pertussis, the bacterial chest infection commonly progresses through three stages — with the first largely similar to the common cold.

Sufferers can then be left with a chronic cough that remains for several weeks.

After revealing her illness, Sally said 'Well get better soon,' before Jon added: 'We'll give you another chance in half an hour and see you then!'

The weather presenter recently took a break from BBC Breakfast, with fellow star Matt Taylor explaining her absence from the show. 

Matt wrote on X: 'Good morning. We've sent @carolkirkwood off to see if she can persuade summer to pay us a longer visit.

'In the meantime, I'm looking after the @BBCBreakfast forecast this week and …oh look …more rain.'

Last week, Carol swiped 'I'm really disappointed' over Strictly Come Dancing's ongoing scandal on Thursday and admitted that she no longer watches the show.

In recent weeks, Strictly has been embroiled in accusations about their professional dancers bullying and abusing their celebrity partners.

The scandal erupted in January when actress Amanda Abbington accused her Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice of abuse after she unexpectedly quit the programme just five weeks in.

Then, in July, it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked from Strictly for 'kicking' his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Scottish meteorologist Carol appeared on BBC reality show Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, and was partnered with Pasha Kovalev.

She told the Daily Express on Thursday: 'Yes [I'm surprised], I'm really disappointed as well, they're doing the right thing by investigating all these claims.'

Carol said she 'loved' her time on the show with her 'lovely' dance partner Pasha, 38, who now appears on Dancing With The Stars.

The presenter also said she didn't experience or hear of any problems from her fellow hopefuls at the time.

But, she empathised: 'I know too much and I know what they're going through with the nerves... You're looking for the nearest fire escape to get out of there because you're consumed by nerves, so I haven't watched it for a long time.'

On an episode of the Off Air... With Jane And Fi podcast, which aired in July, Carol added of her Strictly experience: 'I loved it. I found the Saturday evening absolutely nerve-racking, but the experience, especially the training with Pasha, was my favourite bit.

'He was so patient, so kind, I would say, "I can't do this" and he'd say, "Tomorrow, you'll be able to."

'He was lovely to me, so I've got absolutely no complaints whatsoever. I will never forget it, and I don't regret doing it.'

BBC Breakfast airs 6am to 9am each morning on BBC One, the BBC News channel and BBC iPlayer.