The BBC has apologised after viewers struggled to understand weather presenter Judith Ralston. The Scottish presenter, 58, is a regular on the channel in the north, but spent a week working nationally in London earlier this month.
Some viewers claimed Ralston was “virtually incomprehensible” during segments like the lunchtime news, while another complained she “has a hard accent to always understand”. Scottish viewers defended the host, however, with one writing: “Her accent isn’t the problem, her microphone, however, seems to be an issue as it fades in and out.”
Technical issue confirmed
The BBC confirmed there had been a technical issue, which has since been fixed, which caused “the audio levels to be lower than intended”. A spokesperson said: “We received complaints regarding the audio quality during weather forecasts presented by Judith Ralston. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Ralston joined BBC Scotland in 1999 as a reporter before moving into weather. The Edinburgh-born presenter was formerly an opera singer, but her career was cut short after she developed problems with the muscles in her voicebox.
Weather team shake-up
The complaints come after reports that BBC Weather could be facing a huge shake-up as two of the channel's most recognisable faces are purportedly considering leaving the network amid major cutbacks. As part of plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs and make £500 million in savings, the national broadcaster is reportedly planning to downsize the national weather team, taking the number of presenters from 11 to 4.5.
According to The Times, three of the BBC Weather team's biggest names – Tomasz Schafernaker, Louise Lear and Darren Bett – are “considering taking voluntary redundancy” amid plans to make the broadcaster's meteorological coverage more digital. While the three presenters, who have more than 86 years of presenting experience between them, are not said to have accepted the redundancy offer yet, changes are incoming at the channel to move away from the national weather team and focus more heavily on local presenters.
Changes to weather coverage
The 4.5 remaining national presenter roles, it is reported, will be split between London and the BBC's Salford base, with the BBC Breakfast and Today programme weather bulletins to be presented from the existing hub near Manchester. On the radio, weather updates will be read by the regular programme presenters, rather than specific weather reporters.
In addition, a new BBC weather centre is opening at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter. It will play host to four separate weather reporters, who will focus on the digital side and put together articles, video and social media posts, and means the net reduction in weather presenters will be three.
