BBC TV weatherman Graham Parker dies aged 90

Graham Parker presenting the weather on BBC Television in 1975

One of BBC Look East's first weather forecasters has died at the age of 90.

Graham Parker died in hospital in Norwich on Christmas Eve following a bout of poor health.

He started at the Met Office in the 1950s and was a national TV forecaster, before joining Look East in 1984 when he set up a weather centre in Norwich.

His son Keith described him as a "true gentleman" and said "he set the benchmark in many ways - in how he was and how he presented himself".

The son and grandson of inventors, Mr Parker was born in London's East End and grew up in nearby Willesden, and first came to Norfolk while stationed at RAF Coltishall during National Service.

His interest in the weather was sparked by a geography teacher and he went on to gain two degrees.

He worked for the Meteorological Office in London, Malta and Gibraltar, with his young family settling in Banstead, Surrey, before they eventually moved to Eaton, near Norwich.

Mr Parker pictured on his 80th birthday with his wife Margaret and children Gill, Alun, Keith and Sarah (left to right)

Mr Parker, who was married to wife Margaret for nearly 64 years and had four children and three grandchildren, became a well-known face while broadcasting on BBC Television during 1963 until 1974.

"As kids, it was 'Daddy's on television!'," said his son Keith Parker, 58, talking from his home in Cyprus.

"We always used to wave to him, but being the absolute professional - he would never wave back or say hi to the kids."

'Brilliant performer'

Mr Parker Jnr said that in a time before satellites, his father would forecast conditions based on information from weather balloons and reports from aircraft, boats and lighthouses.

The job - whether presenting without an autocue and memorising up to four minutes of word-perfect information, or forecasting - wasn't always easy.

"You were never forgiven for the ones you got wrong," said Mr Parker Jnr.

However, he said his father's lack of scripts made him a brilliant impromptu performer, especially when the pair would star in gang shows for the Scouts, of which Mr Parker was a big supporter.

"He wasn't a career person - he was more about the service and service for the community," said Mr Parker Jnr.

"All the people you talk to would always say he was such a nice, kind man - and he didn't try to be that - he was it."

• IN PICTURES: 60 Years of BBC TV weather

Speaking in 2013, Mr Parker said he always had his family in mind when presenting.

"You had to get into your mind that there were only one or two people sitting around each little television set in the dining room or kitchen," he said.

"You weren't talking to millions - put that out of your mind.

"You had to make it individually to those one or two people - I used to think my wife is on the other end and I used to talk to her... It's going to rain this afternoon - don't put the nappies out!'"

The Met Office sent Mr Parker to open a regional office in Norwich, where he was soon recruited by BBC Look East to present their first dedicated regional forecasts.

In Norwich, he worked alongside forecasters Ivor Moores, Andy Cutcher and Phil Garner both in the office and on screen.

"He ran a tight ship - you couldn't get away with anything - but he had a very gentle way of pointing you in the right direction," said Mr Garner.