Weather presenter Wincey Willis, whose bubbly personality and colourful jumpers brought a ray of sunshine to breakfast television, has died aged 76 after battling dementia
Weather presenter Wincey Willis has died.
The weather girl was known for her vibrant personality and colourful knitwear on breakfast TV. She has sadly passed away at 76 following a battle with dementia.
Willis made history as ITV’s first female weather presenter on national television when she joined Good Morning Britain in 1983. The then 34 year old, with her breezy mullet and sunny disposition, revolutionised weather presenting during an era of more sombre broadcasts.
“Most people don’t want to know about high pressure over the Azores,” she once remarked to the Liverpool Echo. “All they care about is whether they need their umbrella.”
Willis, alongside the ever-cheery Anne Diamond, Rustie Lee in the kitchen, and “Mad Lizzie” Webb leading a new exercise segment, helped Good Morning Britain surpass BBC’s Breakfast Time in viewer numbers. As her role grew, animal enthusiast Willis even co-presented with the notorious puppet Roland Rat.
She was hailed for paving the way for other female breakfast-time weather presenters like Trish Williamson and Ulrika Jonsson, reports the Express.
Born Florence Winsome Leighton, she got the moniker Wincey from her middle name as her primary school pals in Hartlepool sang Incy Wincy Spider.
At the peak of her career in the mid-80s, she featured on the game show Treasure Hunt alongside Anneka Rice and in the following years, she dedicated her time to conservation volunteering, aiding endangered species worldwide.
Wincey also hosted radio shows for BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and BBC Hereford & Worcester. Her marriage to Malcolm Willis in 1972 ended in divorce. In recent years, Willis battled with dementia.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
