The BBC weather presenter Dianne Oxberry died from ovarian cancer, her husband has said, as he launched a charity to help combat the “appalling disease”.
Oxberry, one of the BBC’s longest-serving weather presenters, died suddenly on 10 January. She was 51 and was last seen on-air in mid-December.
Her husband, Ian Hindle, said he was launching a charity in her memory following her “very short battle” with ovarian cancer.
“The tragic impact was felt not only by her family and friends, but also by the wider public, whose lives she touched across more than 20 years’ TV and radio presenting,” he said on Tuesday.
Hindle, who has two children with Oxberry, started a crowdfunding campaign to raise £1,000 to help get the charity off the ground. By Tuesday morning, twice that amount had been raised by 70 donors.
“The money raised will be used to help families and individuals who have, or are suffering from, this aggressive disease,” he said.
“The aim is also to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and its after-effects, particularly where families have suffered sudden loss … which can often be the case with this appalling disease.”
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in women, particularly affecting those aged over 50.
Clinicians say the earlier ovarian cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better the chance of a cure, but often it is not recognised until it has already spread and a cure is not possible.
Overall, about half of women with ovarian cancer will live for at least five years after diagnosis, and about one in three will live for at least 10 years, according to Cancer Research UK.
Oxberry was one of the most recognisable television presenters in north-west England, having fronted the weather on BBC North West Tonight for 24 years and presented the current affairs programme Inside Out for the region.
Colleagues only found out in the new year that she was ill and said they were “heartbroken” to hear of her death. Tributes flooded in from thousands of viewers and a special edition of Inside Out was aired last week in tribute.
Hindle described his late wife as “inspiration to all who knew and loved her, but also to the people who watched and welcomed her into their homes each night as if she were part of their family too”.
