TV icon Wincey Willis dies aged 76 after dementia battle hidden for months as tributes flood in
Wincey Willis, the trailblazing TV star who became ITV’s first national female weather presenter, has died aged 76 following a long battle with dementia.
Known for her colourful jumpers, infectious energy and no-nonsense forecasts, Wincey lit up the screens of Good Morning Britain from 1983, offering a fresh and charismatic alternative to the typically stern weather updates of the time. She once joked: “Most people don’t care about high pressure over the Azores. They just want to know if it’s umbrella weather.”
Wincey’s big break came at 34, and she quickly became a household name alongside other breakfast TV staples like Anne Diamond, Rustie Lee, and “Mad Lizzie” Webb. Her stint on Good Morning Britain helped the show overtake BBC’s Breakfast Time in popularity.
Born Florence Winsome Leighton in Gateshead in 1948, she was adopted by Florence and Thomas Dimmock and earned the nickname “Wincey” thanks to a schoolyard rhyme. She left school at 16 to study in France and later attended the University of Strasbourg before returning to the UK to work at Radio Tees.
Her transition to television came in the 1970s when she joined Tyne Tees TV. Soon after, she launched her own show Wincey’s Pets on Granada. She also featured on the hit game show Treasure Hunt with Anneka Rice in the mid-80s. However, a contract dispute led to her departure from TV-am in 1987, marking the end of her mainstream TV career.
In later years, Wincey devoted herself to conservation work, helping protect endangered species worldwide. She also hosted local radio shows for BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and BBC Hereford & Worcester.
Her marriage to Malcolm Willis ended in divorce. She spent her final years in private, battling dementia, before passing away in December 2024. Her death was only publicly confirmed this week.