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ITV weather presenter Wincey Willis has passed away at the age of 76 after being diagnosed with dementia.
The channel’s first national female forecaster, she died on December 18 2024, with the news being made public on Wednesday.
In a tribute shared to Instagram, screenwriter Russell T Davies wrote: ‘That’s a sad loss! I mentioned Wincey in the dialogue of Queer As Folk 2, and she hunted me down!
‘She got hold of my email address just to tell me how delighted she was to be mentioned! She was absolutely hilarious and full of joy, what a lovely woman.
‘We corresponded for years, having a wonderful laugh, she was a hoot. And what a great career! Adored her. Well done, Wincey, night darling.’
Famous for her magnificent blonde hair, Willis was already a minor star when she took on the forecasting role and had presented her own show, Wincey’s Pets, in 1982.
ITV weather presenter Wincey Willis has passed away at the age of 76 after being diagnosed with dementia (pictured in 2015)
She had joined ITV’s national programme from Tyne Tees Television, where she had been a forecaster despite admitting that she was not a specialist.
In 1985, she joined game show Treasure Hunt as an adjudicator before leaving full-time TV in 1987.
She went on to star in pantomime, wrote three books and spent years devoted to wildlife conservation.
At one point she lived in a tent in Greece for six months while guarding a turtle population.
She did return to screens as a wildlife presenter in 1993 but subsequent TV appearances have been few and far between.
