Ian McCaskill | |
|---|---|
 McCaskill, 1980s | |
| Born | John Robertson McCaskill (1938-07-28)28 July 1938 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 10 December 2016(2016-12-10) (aged 78) Beaconsfield,Buckinghamshire, England |
| Education | Queen's Park Secondary |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Occupation | Meteorologist |
| Spouses | |
Ian McCaskill (bornJohn Robertson McCaskill;[1] 28 July 1938 – 10 December 2016) was a Scottish meteorologist and television and radio presenter, who frequently presently weather forecasts on theBBC.
McCaskill attendedQueen's Park Secondary in Glasgow, and then theUniversity of Glasgow, where he studiedgeology andchemistry.[2]
McCaskill joined theRAF in 1959 as part of hisNational Service and became an airmanmeteorologist, first in Scotland and then inCyprus.[3] He 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. He left the RAF in 1961 and joined theMet Office, working atGlasgow Prestwick Airport,Malta andManchester.
In 1978, McCaskill began working at theBBC Weather Centre, and presented the weather forecast for the BBC on both television and radio. He retired on 31 July 1998.[3]
McCaskill was known for his soft-spoken demeanor,[1] and his presentation style was widely imitated, including by the satirical comedy showSpitting Image and by impersonatorRory Bremner.[3] He was one of the weathermen mentioned on the novelty song "John Kettley Is a Weatherman".[3]
McCaskill worked as amotivational speaker, and appeared on the BBC Television showsMasterChef and onHave I Got News for You, as well as in a number of TVadvertisements. He also participated in the first series ofCelebrity Fit Club in 2002.
In 2006, he co-wrote the bookFrozen in Time, about Britain's worst ever winters, withPaul Hudson.[4][5]
McCaskill lived atSeer Green, nearBeaconsfield inBuckinghamshire.[6] He had two daughters with his first wife Lesley Charlesworth, to whom he was married from 1959 until her death from breast cancer in 1992. In 1998, he married Pat Cromack, becoming stepfather to her two sons.[citation needed]
McCaskill was a fellow of theRoyal Meteorological Society. In May 2000, he opened the first phase of the £1.2 million 11-hectare (27-acre)Lower Leas Coastal Park inFolkestone.[7]
McCaskill was diagnosed with dementia in 2011 and died, in a nursing home in Leeds, on 10 December 2016, aged 78.[1][8][9]