Points West presenters

Richard's interest in the weather started during geography lessons at grammar school.

After A levels he joined the Met Office as a weather observer in 1979 and spent the first 10 years of his career at RAF Lyneham, Exeter Airport and RAF Honington.

Constantly monitoring changes

During this time Richard gained further A levels and an HNC in Maths and Physics.

He started a forecasting course in 1990 and then spent the next 10 years as a forecaster for the Bristol Weather Centre.

When the centre closed in 2000, Richard became permanently based at the BBC.

He began his broadcasting career in 1994 and in addition to four daily television forecasts on BBC Points West, he also provides radio broadcasts for the BBC's local radio stations and websites in the West.

Richard's almost always on his feet

Richard is well known for his wit and quick thinking on his feet - which he needs. There's no autocue when it comes to forecasting the weather.

Richard's good on his feet outside of his weather work too.

A keen skier and runner, he's completed several half marathons in Bristol and Swindon.

He also enjoys travelling and scuba-diving, which he does while jet-setting around the globe. He's toured Africa, S.E. Asia, South America and the United States in recent years.

He has also completed a degree in Environmental Sciences with the Open University.

Much of his spare time is taken up with walking his Dalmatian, Poppy, and trying to convince his wife Renu to brave the weather and join him!