BBC presenter quits after 30 years as she shares emotional on-air statement

Weather presenter Julie Reinger is quitting her role at BBC Look East, telling fans that it hadn't been an easy decision but that it felt like 'the right time to go'

BBC weather presenter Julie Reinger has announced that she is leaving after more than 30 years.

The BBC Look East presenter has spent 33 years working for the corporation, after landing her first job there in 1992. And she has spent the last 26 years letting viewers know whether there is sunshine or snow on the way at Look East.

Announcing her departure in an emotional statement, she admitted that it "hasn't been an easy decision" for her to make. But she said she felt it was "the right time" for her to move on. Julie will be on air on the programme for the last time on Friday (March 28).

"It hasn’t been an easy decision to leave my Look East and local radio family, but it feels like this is the right time to go," said the much-loved star. “It has been a privilege to bring our viewers and listeners their local forecast for so many years."

She went on: "Come rain or shine, we’ve shared lots of fun and laughter along the way. I feel very blessed to have been able to work in such a beautiful part of the country and to have such a special connection with those who live here.

“I’m always so touched when people feel they can just come up and talk to me in the street or the supermarket, like I’m an old friend. That has always meant so much to me.”

Julie, who was also known for her weather forecasts on BBC Radio Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Northampton, said: "There's a wonderful quote by AA Milne - 'How lucky I am to have something, that makes saying goodbye so hard.' Look East has been a very special something that I've been very lucky to be part of. I will miss my Look East family and the people watching and listening, very, very much."

She told the BBC it felt "surreal" to be off. "I may not be a meteorologist but I care deeply about the weather," she said. "Everybody talks about it and now more than ever, when it comes to reporting on climate change. But that said, I do think the forecast, at the end of the programme, is an opportunity for some fun and laughter too."

Robert Thompson, the BBC's senior head of content production for the east, paid tribute after Julie announced she was leaving. Wishing her lots of luck for the future, he said how much she would be missed.

“Julie has been bringing sunshine to BBC Look East and to our BBC local radio stations across the region for the past 26 years," he said. "And even when the weather’s been rocky Julie has guided us all through it as a trusted friend." He added: "We will miss her brightening our airwaves and we wish her lots of luck for the future."

With Julie a familiar presence for many years, fans will be sad to see her go. "Cracking job done, there," one person posted on X after she shared her news.

The presenter studied broadcast journalism at university. After graduating, she joined BBC Radio Nottingham in 1992 as a newsroom assistant.

Five years later she moved to television at BBC East Midlands Today, where she worked on various features and also did some weather presenting. Then in 1999 she joined BBC Look East as its full-time weather presenter.

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