BBC weather presenter has been working from communal rooftop

BBC weather presenter Jennifer Bartram has joked that her weather reporting has been ‘rough around the edges’ during the coronavirus pandemic, as she’s been forced to present from the rooftop of her Liverpool home.

The North East weather presenter took to LinkedIn to share a behind-the-scenes glimpse at her set-up, revealing that she has been using an iPhone and tripod to film live weather forecasts from the lawn of her communal balcony.

She also revealed that during the last 12 weeks in lockdown, she has been using a green screen in her bedroom for pre-recorded forecasts – and joked that she has to ‘remember not to wave her hands around’.

Sharing a clip as she leapt around the lawn of her communal balcony, with a map of the British weather superimposed onto it,she said: ‘Lockdown has changed a lot of things about how we broadcast, but working from home has real limitations when it comes to the weather, or so I thought. 

‘Over the past 12 weeks, my bedroom has become a functioning chromakey studio and my balcony has been the location for live weather forecasts using just an iPhone and a tripod. 

‘One of the best things about being forced to work at home is the opportunity for experimentation – and this forecast using my lawn as a green screen has been my favourite example of this so far. It’s rough around the edges, but definitely has potential’.

She then tweeted a picture of the green screen in her bedroom, writing: ‘Trade secret for weather during lockdown.

‘My green screen at home is really small compared to a whole studio, so I can’t wave my hands around, for fear of them ‘disappearing’ into thin air. Hence why you’ll see me clasping my hands tight together to remind myself not to wave!’.

Many BBC presenters have been working from home, or with a scaled-back team within the studios.

Last week, the BBC confirmed they will have to air repeats and the pandemic’s effect on schedules will be starker next year.

James Purnell, director of radio and education, said the corporation is working to get filming off the ground again.

‘Yes, we are going to have to have some repeats. The main thing driving that is it’s very hard to film right now,’ he told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.