NI sporting legend Jimmy Kirkwood: ‘Read my lips… I was not married to BBC star Carol’

Jimmy Kirkwood (61) is a former international in both sports. He played hockey domestically for Queen’s University, Belfast YMCA and Lisnagarvey, as well as representing Lisburn Cricket Club.

Kirkwood also represented Team GB at the 1987 Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy and the 1988 Summer Olympics.

He married his wife Pamela in 1989, but over the past few years an increasing number of online articles have named him as the former husband of the BBC star — whose ex-husband is also called Jimmy Kirkwood.

Jimmy said the problem began around four years ago and at first his family were able to laugh about the stories.

“I was in work and my daughter rang me; she said someone had shown her a photograph of me in association to Carol Kirkwood,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“I thought that was hilarious and we had a good laugh about it.

“As I know now, Carol Kirkwood’s former husband was also called Jimmy Kirkwood. The thing was, it then gave all my details; the sport, date of birth, it had all the details. In some places a photograph was even coming up of me.

“We had a bit of a laugh in the family WhatsApp group and a bit of a joke. I’ve been married to my wife Pamela since 1989, but it has started to even grate on her.

Jimmy, who is also the same age as the former Strictly star, said: “Anything to do with Carol Kirkwood — recently she has got engaged, got married — and it comes up again.

“It’s happened four or five times over the last while where there has been a concentration of stories. For a while on Wikipedia, my details were coming up as her ex-husband’s.”

The 10-time Irish Cup winner said that after four years the initial humour has worn thin.

“It’s not people who know us, it’s people who know someone who knows us. A week ago, a friend of mine was getting calls about it and had to say it wasn’t true.

“About a week ago a bunch of guys who knew me through hockey were sitting down and it came up in conversation.

“One said it wasn’t true, and the others were saying it was on Wikipedia and it was online, so he was told he was wrong.”

Jimmy added: “People say it must be true because it was in the news, and it’s nearly at the stage now where it has been quite grating. It’s been in The Mail, The Sun, The Mirror, OK! Magazine, Hello and various other outlets.

“I just naively assumed it would go away, but it seems more than ever now that there are people out there who think that I am Carol Kirkwood’s ex-husband because they’ve seen it repeatedly.

“It’s not a major problem, but it has gotten a bit tiring.”

Jimmy said he has appealed for news outlets to put an end to the references. However, there is one aspect of the comparison that brings a smile to his face though.

“I’ve even had a laugh where sometimes it comes up ‘what is Jimmy Kirkwood’s net worth?’ I can tell you now I’d be delighted if it was!” he added.