was 2004 when I walked through the doors of BBC TV Centre and crossed to the other side of the TV screen, 50 years after George Cowling became the very first meteorologist to step in front of the camera.

Today I have a huge range of graphics, computer generated charts and images to illustrate the weather we're experiencing. George and fellow presenter Tom Clifton had nothing more than a couple of charts and a lot of charcoal sticks to draw with.