The BBC is seeking a potential new weather presenter who does not need to have any qualifications – but does need to be disabled.
An advert on the BBC’s careers website begins by saying: “Do you want to share your passion for the weather by presenting weather bulletins? Do you have a disability?”
It goes on: “The BBC does not currently have any weather presenters who are disabled and we are actively seeking to improve on screen diversity.”
The advert has been derided on Twitter as “PC gone mad”, while others have likened the decision to the BBC’s own spoof comedy W1A, in which Muslim Sadiq Iqbal is hired because they wanted a bearded man to keep Ofcom happy.
Traditionally, weather presenters have been trained meteorologists employed by the Met Office.
Michael Fish, who famously dismissed an oncoming hurricane in 1987, worked at the Met Office before joining the BBC.
John Kettley, whose cult status was immortalised in the song “John Kettley is a weatherman”, had spent four years researching meteorology before becoming a presenter.
Current weather presenters including Sarah Keith-Lucas and Carol Kirkwood were trained at the Met Office, while Philip Avery previously worked as a forecaster for the Royal Navy.
However, the current advert says: “You don’t need to be an expert or to have a qualification in meteorology”.
It adds that you need “a proven interest in this area” and “lots of enthusiasm”.
A BBC spokesperson denied that they are looking for a disabled weather presenter, saying that it is a 'training opportunity' which is 'open to men and women with disabilities who have a passion for weather and the environment and who have the potential to become weather presenters in the future'.
He added: 'There are no jobs guaranteed at the end of the training. There is nothing ‘PC’ about offering training to people with disabilities.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11635180/Wanted-by-the-BBC-a-new-weather-presenter-who-must-be-disabled.html
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It is proposed that it should be considered appropriate for the BBC to specifically advertise for a disabled person with optional meteorological experience for a weather presenter position