Fashion Front: Ex-weather presenter launches clothes range (From Bournemouth Echo)

Fashion Front: Ex-weather presenter launches clothes range

4:33pm Friday 3rd April 2009 in Search By Nicky Findley

HER face will be familiar to many as the local TV weather presenter who delivered the daily two-minute forecast with a friendly smile come rain or shine.

But after nine years at Meridian, Gemma Humphries – who was made redundant in February – is now creating a storm in a D cup.

The 33-year-old was just one of a number of well-known names including anchorwoman Debbie Thrower, who was made redundant following a merger between the station's news programmes.

But Gemma – who became a pin-up for many male viewers – has launched a new venture which could hail “a warm front” for the fuller figured woman.

For she has set up a new clothing company called ODYLdesign with her friend Alison Prangnell for larger ladies across the country “We saw a niche in the market. Average-sized women of a size 8 to 16 who are busty can find they are all but ignored on the High Street.

“Quite often with fitted shirts and dresses, if you've got a bigger bust, it's difficult to get things to fit.

“Because traditional sizing cuts clothing a B-cup, women with a cup size of D or above find it very hard to find good tailored clothing that fits properly.

“More often than not women are forced into shirts, dresses or suiting two sizes bigger, simply so that they can fit their chest in! We’re designing it all now. It’s very different from doing the weather.”

Gemma started at Meridian in June 2000 after moving across from BBC South Today. She had trained in meteorology with the BBC and had worked as a radio weather presenter on breakfast, with Julian Clegg.

Not all weather presenters are meteorologically trained but Gemma takes pride in talking with confidence about what she was forecasting.

“People would ask me what I did with the rest of the day after the two minutes in the evening I was on the TV,” she laughs.

“They didn’t realise there was a forecast at 11am and another one in the middle of the afternoon. We put all the graphics together ourselves, I'd look at all the charts.

“On a general day we’d get in and, if we were lucky enough, we’d make a cup of tea to look over the charts.

“We’d speak to the forecasters in London who will go through things with us, we’d put together all of our charts and start recording.

“The first news bulletin would be at 11.10am but I’d have to be ready by 10.45am because the weather is all pre-recorded to make things easier.

“I got to the point I could virtually do it standing on my head. It's essentially a story of what the weather is going to do over the next 24 hours – that's what’s most important to so many people.”

Weather girls are sometimes accused of being selected to appear on TV just for their looks rather than their talent. And Gemma admits that being on screen day in and day out can put pressure on presenters to conform to a certain look.

But she says she never felt any pressure – or competition from other weather presenters. “I always like to look good anyway. TV puts a lot of weight on you – about two stone. People would come up and say: "You look so much smaller than you are on TV.

“Because they see you on TV they feel as if they know you. I loved choosing my clothes for Meridian. Sometimes I got some really nice emails from people saying they loved my clothes and that was a really nice part of the job.”

Sharing jokes with Fred Dinenage, and bonding with Debbie Thrower over their shared love of Siamese cats, also became part of her daily routine.

“They were fantastic,” says Gemma. “Fred and Debbie are professionals. They made me feel comfortable whenever I was in.

“Fred is naughty and cheeky and always playing jokes and I was always playing jokes on him.

“Debbie was lovely and so kind. She was always a professional and so great to work with.”

Gemma says she doesn’t feel bitter or angry about her departure.

“I was there nearly nine years and it was like a family,” she says. “I absolutely adored the job and it was really sad. I wasn't angry, I was just saddened.

“But things have to change and now I’m putting all my energies into my new clothing company which I’m confident will be a success.”

For more information visit odyldesign.com