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Iconic weather presenter Wincey Willis dies after battle with dementia
Iconic weather presenter Wincey Willis dies after battle with dementia
Wincey was part of a fresh new breakfast TV revolution
Wincey Willis
Iconic weather presenter Wincey Willis has died at the age of 76, after a battle with dementia. Wincey, born Florence Winsome Leighton, was born in 1948 in Gateshead and died last December - but her death has been kept private until today.
She was a pioneering British TV and radio presenter best known as the first female national weather presenter on ITV. She gained fame on Good Morning Britain (TV‑am) starting in May 1983
Wincey was part of a dynamic new breakfast TV line-up alongside Anne Diamond, Rustie Lee and "Mad Lizzie" Webb - as well as notorious rodent puppet Roland Rat
OWincey was adopted by Florence and Thomas Dimmock and got her name from her middle name after classmates at her Hartlepool primary school sang Incy Wincy Spider.
She left school in England at the age of 16 and went to France where she successfully completed her baccalauréat before enrolling at Strasbourg University. She returned to the northeast in 1975, securing a behind-the-scenes role at Radio Tees in Stockton-on-Tees.
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She moved to television when she was invited to audition for the position of weather presenter for Tyne Tees regional TV and a year later, she was awarded her own series on Granada titled Wincey's Pets.
At the pinnacle of her career, during the mid-80s, she featured on the game show Treasure Hunt alongside Anneka Rice. A contract dispute led Willis to resign from TV-am in 1987..
In the following years, she dedicated her time as a conservation volunteer aiding endangered species globally. Wincey also hosted radio shows for BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and for BBC Hereford & Worcester.
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Her marriage to Malcolm Willis in 1972 ended in divorce. In recent years, Willis battled with dementia.
Her death on December 18 last year was publicly announced this week.
