English viewers make heavy weather out of trying to follow Scot Judith Ralston's forecast

Published: 18:00, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 18:00, 12 August 2026 The BBC has been forced to apologise after viewers complained they couldn’t understand weather presenter Judith Ralston during her debut appearances on the UK national news. The popular broadcaster spent a week in London earlier this month doing forecasts on programmes including the BBC News at One for the first time. However, the 58-year-old, a familiar face on screens in Scotland, found herself at the centre of a row after people watching said they couldn’t make out what she was saying. Some English viewers took to social media to blame Ms Ralston’s ‘Scottish accent’ which led her army of fans north of the Border to spring to her defence. However, the BBC has now said that a ‘technical issue’ caused the audio levels on the presenter’s summaries to be lower than intended. A BBC spokesman said: ‘We received complaints regarding the audio quality during weather forecasts presented by Judith Ralston. ‘Unfortunately, a technical issue affected some of Judith Ralston’s weather forecasts during the first week of August, causing the audio levels to be lower than intended. ‘We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and are pleased to confirm that the issue has now been fully resolved.’ Scottish fans came to Judith Ralston's defence on social media after some English viewers couldn't understand her accent Ms Ralston spent a week in London doing forecasts on programmes including the BBC News at One for the first time After one of Ms Ralston’s broadcasts, one viewer wrote on X: ‘This new presenter on screens in England is terrible, she mumbles, is quiet, has a hard accent to always understand, not the best qualities for the job.’ Another viewer posted: ‘Your new weather person Judith Ralston speaks really really quietly and is virtually incomprehensible even with the sound on the TV turned right up. You need to do something about this.’ However, Scottish-based viewers said Ms Ralston had ‘aced’ her appearances on the national programmes. One said: ‘I’m Scottish, so I understand every word, her accent isn’t the problem, her microphone however seems to be an issue as it fades in and out. On Scottish news she’s loud and clear.’ Another fan posted: ‘Judith’s not new. She’s been doing this for years and speaks very clearly indeed. Very easy to understand her.’ Despite the complaints, Ralston told her followers on Instagram she had enjoyed the experience in London. She said: ‘I was in London for a week presenting national weather. It was great to get the opportunity to do it for once in my career. ‘The presenters down there were really great fun and I really felt at home with them. ‘We had some real laughs and they were so kind and so generous.’ Before moving into broadcasting, Edinburgh-born Ralston was an opera singer but her career was cut short after she developed problems with the muscles in her voicebox as a result of bad teaching. She joined the BBC in 1999 as a travel reporter for BBC Scotland then moved into weather presenting.