BBC weatherman announces he's walking away from role after 30 years
After nearly 30 years, BBC Wales' best-known weather presenter is stepping away from the role, he has announced.
Derek Brockway presented his first BBC Wales Today forecast in 1997 and went on to front the TV series Weatherman Walking for nearly 20 years.
He has covered the biggest weather events to hit the country including the Beast from the East, Storm Dennis and this year's heatwave.
A household name, known to many simply as "Derek the weather", the boy from Barry also made a cameo appearance in the town's most famous modern export - Gavin and Stacey.
Brockway has celebrated his roots on screen, referring to the Vale of Glamorgan town as "Barrybados", and regularly throws in Welsh language greetings and phrases, such as "shwmae", meaning "hello".
He studied A-levels at Barry Boys Comprehensive in maths, physics and geology with a plan to work in meteorology.
However, Brockway's love of the weather dates back even further. It was at the age of eight, during the long hot summer of 1976, that he first became fascinated with isobars and anticyclones.
He described driving his parents "bonkers" as he watched all weather reports and says he always wanted to work with the weather.
His first job came in September 1986 when he joined the Met Office as an observer at Cardiff Weather Centre, with spells following at Cardiff and Birmingham airports.
He also spent eight months in the Falkland Islands in 1993 observing the weather for RAF aircrafts, including Hercules, Sea Kings and Chinooks.
In 1995, Brockway became a forecaster at Birmingham Weather Centre and presenting on the radio.
There was a brief stint in London, GMTV in 1996, as well as working as an environmental consultant for the Met Office in Bracknell.
But home was calling him back, and he joined BBC Wales Today in September 1997, and never looked back, apart from to look at the weather map.
As BBC Wales' senior meteorologist, Brockway has covered the biggest weather events from heatwaves to blizzards.
In the winter of 2018, the country ground to a halt as the Beast from the East took hold of the country.
The prolonged cold snap started at the end of February and lasted for 10 days with widespread heavy snow.
It was headline news for Wales, and Brockway was called on for his expertise as well as forecasts.
It would be the same for Storm Dennis when communities across south Wales were devastated by floods, and most recently Brockway has kept us informed with the heatwave and if the high pressure would ever end.
As well as presenting from studio, there were also the outside broadcasts, often in fancy dress for big events in the late nineties.
He dressed as Guy Fawkes for bonfire night, in a full red dragon outfit for the start of the Six Nations, and also as "Derek Vader" as he appeared in a Darth Vader costume to present the weather for a Star Wars premiere in 1999.
These were the days before streaming channels and social media, and Derek was becoming a household name as he appeared most days on Wales Today.
It wasn't long before other TV projects came along, including Derek's Welsh Weather, Jamie and Derek's Welsh Weekends with presenter Jamie Owen, and Weatherman Walking.
The long-running series saw Brockway swap the studio for stunning walks around Wales.
It started on radio and soon transferred to TV, running for nearly 20 years.
From Chepstow in Monmouthshire to Corwen, Denbighshire, Brockway walked hundreds of miles and covered most of Wales in this series which ran until 2024.
The Best of Weatherman Walking is still running on BBC Two and BBC One Wales, and currently on its second series.
In the 1970s, 80s and 90s weather presenters transformed from technical presenters to personalities.
Forecasters such as Michael Fish and John Kettley, who even had a hit song named after him, became household names.
About 15 years ago, a Sunday Times article suggested the weather stars of the new era weren't shining as bright, but singled out Brockway for bucking the trend with his unique style and huge following.
He even made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the sitcom Gavin and Stacey delivering a weather forecast.
This fame also caught the attention of the King and leading politicians, especially one who couldn't escape "Derek's doppelgänger" remarks.
In 2013, the then First Minister Carwyn Jones, who some believed looked similar to Brockway, traded places with BBC Wales' lead weather forecaster in a memorable moment for Children In Need.
Meanwhile, he made a surprise announcement at the Welsh government offices in front of journalists, promising a "bright outlook" for Wales while the first minister stepped in to present the weather forecast.
At the time, Derek said: "I enjoyed my brief taste of power but, but I'm not sure I'm ready to run the country."
While Carwyn Jones on lookalike comparisons joked: "I can't see it myself. I'm definitely taller and slimmer."
In July 2022, the King - then the Prince of Wales - voiced his concerns about the climate crisis to Brockway and his fellow meteorologist, Sabrina Lee.
King Charles said he felt it gets too little coverage during weather forecasts but Brockway reassured the now King and Queen that he "tries to build it in".
In 2023, he was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and described it as "a great honour, especially for doing the job I love".
Brockway has been a regular on Radio Wales with forecasts and several programmes.
He will say his last "nos da" (goodnight in Welsh) on Wales Today at the end of this year.
It'll mark the end of an era for viewers in Wales where the name "Derek" has become synonymous with the weather.
