Seán Batty (born 6 May 1982) is a meteorologist, currently working for STV. Before this he was a Broadcast Assistant at the BBC Weather Centre and occasionally presented forecasts in BBC regions.

Early life

Born in Paisley, he attended

Castlehead High School Castlehead High School is a non-denominational, mixed state secondary school in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. It was opened in 1971. In 1989, John Neilson High School (founded as the John Neilson Institution in 1852) merged into Castlehead ...

and studied meteorology at the University of Reading. His interest in meteorology began when he was only seven years old, after receiving a BBC weather kit for his birthday. Batty became the weather forecaster for the school newspaper as well as the regional newspaper, the '' Paisley Daily Express'', for a few months during the summer of 1996.

Career

Batty joined the

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

as a weather observer at the School of Army Aviation at Middle Wallop airbase near Andover, Hampshire. He later worked with the ITV Weather team preparing TV weather graphics and maps for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

, UTV and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. In 2004, he joined the BBC as a broadcast assistant. Seán has been working in Scotland for STV Weather since August 2007. Batty was nominated for the

BAFTA Scotland BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televi ...

''Lloyds TSB Scotland Award for Most Popular Scottish Presenter'' in November 2008, losing out to Lorraine Kelly.

Personal life

He learned

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

and hoped to be fluent in time for the Paisley MOD in 2013. Sean has been a supporter and Judge for part of the Breast Way Round Charity event since 2008. The event consists of female motorcyclists participating in a sponsored motorcycle ride round Scotland, and as part of the event the male motorcyclists who participate (often partners, friends and family of female participants) will dress up in fancy dress including decorated bras which are then judged as part of a competition at the event location where the ride ends. Sean acted as the judge for the Bra competition during the first year of the event and it was so popular that he has been asked back every year since with the competition getting bigger and better each year, with Sean himself participating in part of the 2011 ride and sporting a special weather themed Bra during that year's event. In September 2012, 16-year old Lee Glen was charged after leaving a barrage of anti-gay abuse and offensive expletives against Batty, via Twitter, in June of that year. Glen appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court and admitted to posting a message to Batty that was grossly offensive, indecent or menacing in nature. Batty told the court he had been shocked by its content. Glen later issued a public apology for his behaviour.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Batty, Sean 1982 births ITV Weather Living people People from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish meteorologists Scottish television presenters STV News newsreaders and journalists