Former weatherman Fred Talbot guilty of sex abuse

The 65-year-old was cleared of eight counts of assault in relation to three boys, but was found guilty of two counts of assault on two boys by the jury at Manchester Minshull Street crown court.

Talbot was described as “a chancer” who used his “boundless energy” and “extrovert personality” to gain the affection and trust of his victims.

The former ITV star was a regular on the floating weather map in Liverpool’s Albert Dock for the top0-rating This Morning show. He had denied abusing boys aged 14 to 17.

Four of the complainants were teenage pupils at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys in Manchester, where Talbot taught biology. The other complainant attended a high school in Gateshead when Talbot was at teacher training college.

The court was told that Talbot staged a naked orgy involving 10 boys on a canal boat. Following the “orgy”, Talbot told one boy to sleep with him. He later performed a sex act on the boy and told him to keep it “secret”.

Another victim was abused on a different barge trip in similar circumstances.

During the investigation, police seized a number of diaries Talbot kept during his teaching career.

Police found entries “highly suggestive of inappropriate behaviour”.

Following the verdict, Greater Manchester Police released a video of a police interview with Talbot. In it he repeatedly refuses to answer questions, giving only small clues about coded diary entries.

Talbot was passive as the foreman read out the verdicts. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on March 13.

Among the prosecution witnesses at the trial were Stone Roses singer Ian Brown, who said Talbot gave masturbation practice as homework.

Brown said he remembered two or three biology lessons given by Talbot when he was an 11-year-old boy.

The witness said: “Very early at school, I would not have been there a long time, Mr Talbot asked all the class if any of us had ever masturbated.

“He went on to explain how to masturbate, how you should masturbate and the following lesson he asked who had masturbated.”

Brown said Talbot also showed a gay porn film in another class.

‘Reputation in tatters’

The court was told that Talbot’s teaching career came to “an abrupt end” in May 1984 following an indecent proposal he made to two pupils at his home.

He offered his bed for the night to the 15-year-old boys and said to them: “Make sure you leave room for me in the middle.”

Talbot kept quiet about why he resigned from Altrincham Grammar as his television career took off.

Greater Manchester Police Detective Constable Chris Doggart said that Talbot’s reputation was now “rightly in tatters”.

“Even when he was not committing offences against the two vulnerable young boys, his behaviour was wholly inappropriate and so far removed from his duty as a teacher to nurture and safeguard those under his care it really does defy belief,” said Det Cons Doggart.