BBC Weather Star at Centre of ‘Racy Outfit’ Storm: The Surprising Love Story Behind Elizabeth Rizzini — From a Lift-Room Romance to a Partner Paralysed in an Al-Qaeda Attack… and the Hidden Talent That Left Celebrity Mastermind Stunned
The BBC weather presenter who sent viewers into meltdown this week over a supposedly ‘racy’ on-air outfit has a private life every bit as compelling as the social-media frenzy surrounding her.
Elizabeth Rizzini, 49, sparked hundreds of comments after appearing on the Six O’Clock News in a sleek denim zip-up dress, with eagle-eyed viewers convinced they caught a glimpse of what looked like black lace stockings. The moment lit up X, with jokes flying and comparisons drawn to the post-Carol Kirkwood era of BBC weather.
But away from the studio lights, Elizabeth’s story stretches far beyond a viral wardrobe moment.
The London-based presenter has been in a relationship for six years with Frank Gardner, the BBC’s long-standing security correspondent who was left paralysed following an Al-Qaeda attack in Saudi Arabia in 2004.
The presenter, from London, who was previously married and has two children, got divorced in 2016, and has spoken about how inspired she has been by her ‘devastatingly handsome’ partner of six years (both pictured right)
Elizabeth, a divorced mother of two, has spoken openly about how inspiring she finds her partner, describing him as “devastatingly handsome” and quietly resilient.
Speaking in the documentary Being Frank: The Frank Gardner Story, she explained:
“Frank is a security correspondent — not a disability correspondent. People know very little about his disability unless he chooses to talk about it. He just gets on with it.”
Their love story began not at a glittering event, but in a BBC lift.
Frank later recalled how he had long admired Elizabeth’s calm, engaging style on camera before they met. In a 2020 interview, he said:
“She’s wonderful company — it’s almost like having a first girlfriend. Even after all my Middle Eastern travels, a simple holiday in Greece with her felt refreshingly adventurous.”
He has also joked that Elizabeth never lets him forget their 15-year age gap, teasing him relentlessly about being the older one in the relationship.
The couple were first publicly linked in 2019, when they were spotted sharing a kiss in a London pub — a year after Frank’s split from his ex-wife of 22 years. Elizabeth’s previous marriage remains largely private, though it is known her ex-husband is Italian and that the pair share two daughters, the youngest born in 2014.
Professionally, Elizabeth has spent 14 years at the BBC and is Met Office trained. She once revealed her punishing daily routine involves waking at 3am, arriving at the office by 4.15am and moving between studios, radio booths and meetings until mid-afternoon.
“Yes, it’s busy,” she said, “but when you love your job it never feels like work.”
Raised in Croydon, Elizabeth studied and lived abroad in France and Spain, speaks fluent Spanish and Italian, and holds a Master’s degree focused on environmental journalism and climate change.
And then there’s the fact many viewers missed entirely: she’s a quiz powerhouse.
Last year, Elizabeth stunned audiences by winning Celebrity Mastermind, with her specialist subject being none other than Celine Dion. She later donated her prize money to Hospice in the Weald, which cared for her late cousin before her death in 2021.
On social media, Elizabeth shares glimpses of her cat, her demanding job, and sun-soaked holidays with Frank in destinations such as Mexico and Lanzarote — a sharp contrast to the storm stirred by a few seconds of live television this week.
As viewers continue debating whether the infamous ‘black band’ was lace, thermals, cycling shorts or even a microphone strap, one comment perhaps summed it up best:
“There is life after Carol Kirkwood.”
And for Elizabeth Rizzini, both on and off screen, that life appears full — and still quietly surprising.
