Portraits? They’re a breeze for top BBC forecaster
You might think attempting to predict the ups and downs of the British weather is a full time job.
But it seems that, in between bringing us our daily forecast, one weatherman has had time to embark on a whole alternative career.
Tomasz Schafernaker – recently voted the nation’s favourite TV forecaster – has revealed he has been harbouring a secret talent as an artist.
In the last few weeks, the 38-year-old has unveiled intricate drawings of celebrities and wildlife, and has announced he has signed a deal to write and illustrate a children’s book.
Despite his extensive duties on the BBC, Schafernaker sometimes spends up to 60 hours on one piece of art.
Such is his skill that many of his social media followers have struggled TV and Radio Reporter to tell the difference between photographs of Dame Judi Dench and Harrison Ford and his drawings of them.
Posting the artwork on Instagram, he wrote: ‘Improvement ... Harrison was pretty good, but Judy [sic] was quite a jump in detail.’
He has also tackled Will Smith, Mr Spock, and several shark scenes.
And it appears his efforts have paid off. Last week he took to Instagram to reveal to his 13,000 followers: ‘Work in progress for my children’s books ... Stay tuned!’
Schafernaker studied A-level art at St John’s College in Southsea, Portsmouth. After becoming the BBC’s youngest weatherman at 22, he has gained a legion of fans over the years for his on-screen antics.
In 2010, he was seen swearing at newsreader Simon McCoy in the belief he was off camera.
He was forced to apologise for calling the outer Hebrides and Western Isles ‘nowheresville’ in 2007 – and again last December when he failed to finish the early-morning shipping forecast. He later said he had to go and be sick.
After being voted Britain’s favourite weatherman in a Radio Times poll in May, he said he had studied meteorology at university despite ‘never feeling like a true scientist at heart’, adding: ‘I was always an artist, I did art at school, but I did quite well in my science exams and that led me on to meteorology.’