SHE'S been a familiar face on our TV screens for almost 10 years, promising us rain or shine.

Now weather girl Debbie Lindley is taking a break at the end of September to prepare for the birth of her first baby.

Debbie, who used to live in Mirfield and who was herself born in Dewsbury General Hospital, is expecting her baby on October 23.

Together with her husband Graham Voakes, she now lives in Harrogate from where she currently juggles her work as a Yorkshire TV weather girl, a Real Radio breakfast show presenter, maternity checks and parenting/birth preparation classes.

As she prepares for motherhood, Debbie says the past year has brought her mixed emotions of both joy and despair - joy with her marriage to Graham and subsequent pregnancy and despair at the death of her mother Pauline from breast cancer.

She said: "Graham and I married last December and soon after we came back from our honeymoon, I lost my mum.

"She was actually very ill with breast cancer when we married but she managed to see the wedding in Knaresborough.

"Together with my dad she moved over to Harrogate to be nearer us but died at the end of January.

"Just after her memorial service I found out I was pregnant.

"In actual fact I was probably pregnant, but didn't realise, before she died.

"It's very sad that I won't be able to share the big event with her but I like to think she left a little bit of herself behind with the new baby."

Debbie's mum Pauline Lindley was only 57 when she died after her cancer battle which lasted over seven years.

"Unfortunately the cancer returned. After a lump was removed from her breast, it was discovered the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes. It lay dormant for a while but then spread again and she became very very ill.

"My dad Stewart still lives very near to us, about two minutes walk away, so at least he'll be able to enjoy having a new baby in the family."

As the big day approaches Debbie will take a break from our TV screens and also leave her breakfast show slot on the West Yorkshire based Real Radio.

If all goes to plan, she hopes to be back presenting the weather reports early next year.

Debbie, started her career at The Pulse radio station in Bradford where she presented the breakfast show for three years.

She had gained some experience in radio after working with the Huddersfield Hospital Radio service, playing patients requests and presenting a regular show.

"I moved to Yorkshire Television to be a replacement for weather man Bob Rust. I'd never done any TV presenting before but applied for the job and was lucky enough to get it.

"At the moment I'm just doing the late weather slot two days a week. Although Yorkshire viewers only see the late slot here, we also do weather slots for other Northern TV stations including Tyne Tees, Border and Granada.

"Obviously presenters do have to have a reasonable knowledge of meteorology. Before I got the job I had to complete a meteorology course and obviously had to pass before the job was offered to me.

"As we are qualified to make the forecasts, I suppose it's me to blame if the weather turns out differently to what we predict."

Turning her attention to motherhood is something Debbie is looking forward to.

"I don't know what to expect really, either with the birth itself or having a new baby to look after.

"One lady who has been has been at our ante-natal classes knows she is having twins and that they are both boys.

"I decided not to know the sex of the baby. I'd rather have a surprise. As long as the baby is healthy, that's all that matters."

Debbie is rather concerned about one aspect of the forthcoming birth. Her husband Graham was himself a 10lb baby.

"I weighed in at eight lbs when I was born but Graham was a whopping 10lbs. I keep wondering whether this one will be as big."

Preparations for the new arrival are well under way in the Voakes household. As husband Graham is a joiner, he is currently busy working on a nursery for the new addition.

"It's really nice that Graham works as a joiner. He's nothing to do with the media and it's good that we are both involved in very different areas of work."

Debbie is a regular visitor to her home town where various family members still live.

Over the years she has been called upon to open local galas, fetes and other events.

Just recently she was the star guest at New Mill gala where she also presented prizes. And Debbie has also been keen to appear at events to raise the profile of local hospices and MacMillan Cancer Relief.