Wincey Willis Dead at 76: ITV’s First Female Weather Presenter
Wincey Willis was a bright weathergirl in colourful knitwear who made the forecast feel human. When she died on 19 December 2024 at 76, obituaries placed her in broadcasting history as ITV’s first female national weather presenter, and this article pulls together her TV timeline, the details that remain unconfirmed, and the pay context that still shapes how female weather presenters are discussed.
Born: 8 August 1948 ·
Died: 19 December 2024 ·
Age: 76 ·
ITV role: ITV’s first female national weather presenter ·
Other credits: TV-am weathergirl and Channel 4’s Treasure Hunt
Quick snapshot
- Real name Florence Winsome Leighton, born 8 August 1948 (Wikipedia biography).
- Became ITV’s first female national weather presenter (BBC Hereford & Worcester report).
- Died 19 December 2024 at 76 (The Sun obituary).
- Exact years of her Treasure Hunt role vary between reports (HELLO! (celebrity magazine)).
- No clinical confirmation of dementia appears in the sources reviewed here. (HELLO! (celebrity magazine))
- Started in radio at Radio Tees in Stockton-on-Tees (The Sun obituary).
- May 1983: national ITV weather debut (BBC regional report).
- 1980s: Treasure Hunt run on Channel 4, dates vary (HELLO! (celebrity magazine)).
One table, one point: the public record on Wincey Willis is shorter than her fame.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Florence Winsome Leighton |
| Known as | Wincey Willis |
| Born | 8 August 1948 |
| Died | 19 December 2024 |
| Age at death | 76 |
| TV roles | ITV weather, TV-am, Channel 4’s Treasure Hunt |
Who was the first female weather presenter?
The record points to Wincey Willis. A BBC Hereford & Worcester report says she became ITV’s first female national weather presenter in 1983 and places her national ITV weather debut in May 1983. The same source says she later worked as an adjudicator on Channel 4’s Treasure Hunt with Anneka Rice and Kenneth Kendall.
The move to national television followed regional work. The Independent (UK news site) reported that she moved from regional television weather presenting to the national TV-am breakfast programme Good Morning Britain.
What was Wincey Willis known for?
- She was born Florence Winsome Leighton in Gateshead on 8 August 1948 and was adopted, growing up in Hartlepool and Barnard Castle (Wikipedia biography).
- She joined Tyne Tees Television in 1981 and went on to replace Commander David Philpott as TV-am’s weekday weather presenter (Wikipedia biography).
- Her on-screen look, with colourful knitwear and a prominent mullet, was noted by Eastern Eye (UK Asian weekly).
Sun reporting says the TV-am run ended in 1987 after a contract dispute (The Sun obituary). After leaving full-time television, she focused on wildlife conservation and animal-welfare work, according to The Independent (UK news site).
How did Wincey Willis die?
The date is recorded; the clinical backstory is not. Obituaries confirm she died on 19 December 2024, but the sources reviewed here do not confirm the specific diagnosis that circulated in tributes.
As the quick snapshot above notes, The Sun’s obituary records her age at death as 76. The BBC and Independent reporting used for this article do not add an official cause of death.
The pattern is clear: Willis opened a door because she was a communicator, not a meteorologist. That is why the record calls her a first, even though the screen role was about warmth, not weather science.
What is happening to Carol Kirkwood?
This query tends to follow any discussion of veteran BBC weather presenters. In the source set reviewed for this article, no BBC exit announcement for Carol Kirkwood appears, and the Wincey Willis obituaries do not mention a departure.
Why has Carol Kirkwood left BBC?
- No departure announcement from the BBC is in the research notes for this article.
- No mention of a Kirkwood exit appears in the cited obituary coverage.
- The query reads like a recurring rumour pattern rather than a documented change.
The reliable answer, then, is “no confirmed change.” If the BBC makes a personnel announcement, that is the source to watch.
How much is Carol Kirkwood worth?
Net-worth figures are not BBC disclosures. Without a published source, a number is an estimate, not a fact.
The research notes do not contain a current, verifiable Carol Kirkwood net-worth figure. The distinction between salary and wealth matters because one is public record and the other is speculation.
The implication: “What is happening to Carol Kirkwood?” is a no-news story until the BBC says otherwise.
Who is Lizzie Rizzini?
Lizzie Rizzini appears in People Also Ask bundles that group together several female weather presenters. The cited source set for this article does not include a dedicated Rizzini profile, so the accurate answer is short: she is a broadcast weather presenter, and her current role belongs on a current broadcaster page.
What is Lucy Martin doing now?
- Lucy Martin is a weather presenter; her current role is not updated in the Wincey Willis source set.
- A fresh profile or interview would be the proper authority for a current answer.
Who is Lucy Martin married to?
A personal question like this can only be answered with a named source. Without one, the reliable move is to say “not verified here.”
No marriage record or interview for Lucy Martin appears in the research notes, so this article will not speculate.
Is Bobby Charlton’s daughter a weather presenter?
- The claim has circulated around female weather presenters, but the source set here does not confirm it.
- No verified family link appears in the cited obituaries.
How old is Lucy Verasamy?
Age queries are only answerable when a birth date is public. The source set does not contain a verified birth date for Lucy Verasamy.
Without a public date, the honest answer is that the date is not part of this article’s verified record.
The pattern: the PAA cluster treats unrelated women as one group. Separating them is the first useful answer; refusing to guess is the second.
How much do weather presenters get paid?
There is no standard public salary band for UK weather presenters. Pay depends on employer, role, experience, and whether a broadcaster’s disclosure rules apply.
What is Laura Kuenssberg’s salary?
- Laura Kuenssberg’s salary is a BBC pay disclosure topic, not a weather-presenter salary.
- It enters this question set because “highest paid broadcaster” searches mix roles.
The research notes for this article do not include a current Kuenssberg figure, so none is repeated here.
The real gap in the public record is not between weather presenters and newsreaders; it is between verified disclosure and online guesswork.
Who is the highest paid weather forecaster?
The question usually expects one name and one number. The source-backed response is more cautious: no ranking of UK weather forecasters by pay was verified in the research notes, and the “highest paid” label is often used loosely.
How do BBC pay disclosures work?
- UK weather presenter pay is not a standard public salary band.
- Published figures come from BBC annual reports, staff disclosures, or commercial contract reports.
- Salary is not the same as net worth.
How does weather presenter pay compare with newsreader pay?
Newsreaders draw the big disclosure numbers; weather presenters draw the affection. The two are not the same market, and the salary question conflates them.
On the evidence reviewed, Wincey Willis’s career did not produce a public salary record; her value was in the breakthrough, not the pay slip.
A few queries, one pattern: “highest paid” and “left BBC” tend to outrun evidence.
| Query | Sourced answer | Evidence status |
|---|---|---|
| Who was the first female weather presenter? | Wincey Willis, ITV debut May 1983 | Confirmed by BBC regional report |
| Has Carol Kirkwood left the BBC? | No departure in the cited source set | No BBC statement found |
| Who is the highest paid weather forecaster? | No source-backed ranking found | Unconfirmed in the research notes |
What this means: the loudest questions in search are often the ones with the thinnest evidence. The BBC citation gives Willis a firm anchor; the other two queries remain open by default.
Timeline: Wincey Willis’s broadcasting career
Three dates, one arc: regional radio, national weather, then a quieter second act.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Born Florence Winsome Leighton | Wikipedia biography | |
| May 1983 | ITV national weather debut; became ITV’s first female national weather presenter | BBC regional report |
| 1980s | TV-am and Channel 4 Treasure Hunt roles | The Independent (UK news site); HELLO! (celebrity magazine) |
| Died aged 76 | The Sun obituary |
After leaving full-time television, she focused on wildlife conservation and animal-welfare work, including time in Greece monitoring a breeding turtle population (HELLO! (celebrity magazine)).
The arc of her career shows a pivot from screen to sanctuary.
Confirmed facts and unanswered questions
Confirmed facts
- Born 8 August 1948 (Wikipedia biography)
- Died 19 December 2024 (The Sun obituary)
- Professional name Wincey Willis; birth name Florence Winsome Leighton (Wikipedia biography)
- Described as ITV’s first female national weather presenter (BBC regional report)
- TV-am weathergirl and Channel 4 Treasure Hunt credits (The Independent (UK news site); BBC regional report)
Rumor list
- Exact dates of her TV-am and Treasure Hunt roles vary between sources (HELLO! (celebrity magazine)).
- Clinical detail around any dementia diagnosis is not confirmed in the reviewed sources.
- Surviving family details are not established in the cited material.
- Broadcast history retains her as a first, not just a familiar face.
- Current pay queries still blur salary and net worth; sourced comparison remains thin.
What remains unconfirmed tempers the certainty of the known record.
Voices on Wincey Willis
Willis became ITV’s first female national weather presenter in 1983.
BBC Hereford & Worcester report
She moved from regional television weather presenting to the national TV-am breakfast programme Good Morning Britain.
The Independent (UK news site)
Her distinctive style included colourful knitwear and a prominent mullet hairstyle.
Together, the quotes frame the career: a first, a break, and a look people remembered.
What this means
Wincey Willis’s death closes the human story, but the record stays open. For broadcast historians, the choice is clear: use the BBC’s May 1983 dating and the “first female national weather presenter” phrase with care, or let shorthand blur the difference between a presenter and a meteorologist. For viewers, the memory is simpler: someone in a bright jumper made the weather feel worth watching.
Frequently asked questions
What was Wincey Willis’s real name?
Florence Winsome Leighton; she broadcast as Wincey Willis.
When was Wincey Willis born?
8 August 1948.
When did Wincey Willis die?
19 December 2024, aged 76.
How old was Wincey Willis when she died?
76.
What is frontotemporal dementia?
A specific form of dementia reported in some tributes; the clinical detail is not confirmed in the source set used here.
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