10 Facts About Ian McCaskill

Ian McCaskill joined the RAF in 1959 as part of his National Service and became an airman meteorologist, first in Scotland and then in Cyprus.

Ian McCaskill once joked that when he joined the RAF he was given a choice between Catering and Meteorology, he did not know what meteorology was but he knew he couldn't cook.

Ian McCaskill left the RAF in 1961 and joined the Met Office, working at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Malta and Manchester.

In 1978, Ian McCaskill began working at the BBC Weather Centre, and presented the weather forecast for the BBC on both television and radio.

Ian McCaskill was known for his soft-spoken demeanor, and his presentation style was widely imitated, including by the satirical comedy show Spitting Image and by impersonator Rory Bremner.

Ian McCaskill was one of the weathermen mentioned on the novelty song "John Kettley Is a Weatherman".

Ian McCaskill worked as a motivational speaker, and appeared on the BBC Television shows MasterChef and on Have I Got News for You, as well as in a number of TV advertisements.

Ian McCaskill participated in the first series of Celebrity Fit Club in 2002.

Ian McCaskill had two daughters with his first wife Lesley Charlesworth, to whom he was married from 1959 until her death from breast cancer in 1992.

Ian McCaskill was diagnosed with dementia in 2011 and died, in a nursing home in Leeds, on 10 December 2016, aged 78.