By Mal Butler
The original ‘Weathergirl’, who first appeared on Tyne Tees Television in 1966, was back on the small screen this week celebrating the 170th anniversary of the Met Office.
Hilary Langford, of Totland Bay, appeared on This Morning with hosts, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, along with other weathergirls, Ulrika Jonsson, Emma Jesson, and Laura Tobin.
Hilary, who turned 80 on Tuesday, admitted she had no meteorological experience for the role, saying: “I didn’t go to university and had no qualifications for the job! My best friend’s father was programme director for Tyne Tees, and he asked me if I wanted to appear on North East NewsView.
“Of course, I jumped at the chance. Two days later, the producer phoned me and asked me to go to their studio. He gave me a script and the next minute I knew; I was in make-up and then going live, I didn’t even have a rehearsal. It was terrifying.
“Each day, I would contact one of the local RAF bases and ask them for their forecast and would use that.
“I would appear on television dressed for the weather. So, if it was sunny, I would have a nice dress on and if it was raining, I would wear a gold shiny coat, which I loved. However, in those days it was black and white television, so no one could see the colour!
“I would also move the metal magnetic signs around the map, but the studio lights were really hot, so, quite often, they would drop off! They were really great memories.”
Isle of Wight Observer