1987: After It Came Ben Frank
Frank Debussier (1 August 1958) started working at the then BRT in March 1987 taking over from another legendary weatherman Armand Bean. Together with his wife Hilda Simmons, George Koster and Bob D. Richter, his predecessor prepared him to present again. Frank made his debut as a weatherman on March 12, 1987. Bean finally retired in 1990 after 37 years and since then it has been up to the young ranger to make the weather good. Sabine Hagedorn joined in 1993, and since 1997 she and Frank have formed the permanent weather team at VRT. In 2019 they were augmented by Bram Verbruggen as a third presenter.
Spring weather forecast
Franck Debussier studied physics and then Dutch-English history. A perfect combination because both science and language are essential for good weather forecasting. The weather forecast should not only be accurate, but also understandable to everyone. Frank has always made this a matter of honor. In 1997 he was even awarded the Wablieft Prize for Plain Language. But Frank’s language is not only clear, but also rich, because he personally created such beautiful torsos as Morning Gray, Winter and Spring Prickles.
Boy and science
In addition to his work as a weather forecaster, Frank is often busy with science, especially with his great love of astronomy. He once presented science programs such as De kip or het ei, All Five, and a documentary on Mercator. But he was also an active volunteer for many years at the Volkssterrenwacht Mira in Grimbergen, “Ambassador for Astronomy”, “Honorary Member of the Astronomical Society” and godfather of the Flemish Olympiad in Natural Sciences.
Planet Frank
Frank also shares his passion for weather and science through other media. He has written several books on weather and astronomy, and has a website that he fills out and maintains himself. So it has a weak point for computers and multimedia. Frank is active on all kinds of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon) and does podcasts about weather and climate. Last year his podcast “Planeet Frank” won a Belgian Podcast Award.
Green man
Frank is also very committed to the environment and climate. As a weatherman, he knows very well that the Earth is getting warmer and that we have to do something about it. He always drew attention to this in his weather reports, for example by pointing out the dangers of fine particulate matter, ozone haze, ultraviolet radiation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Frank himself is an avid cyclist and bike promoter. In Man bijt hond in 1997, he actually gave energy saving tips in his column Het Groene Milieumannetje.
warm heart
In addition to the heart of nature, Frank also has a big heart for his fellow human beings. In 2003 he became president of Kom Op Tegen Kanker and currently still serves as campaign manager. Another passion of Frank is music. He inherited his love of classical music from his parents. He took piano lessons, playing classical as well as jazz and evergreens. He was also a member of the electronic music group Art for Ears, with whom he has released several CDs.
As Frank himself said: “The weather never stops. Even God can say, “The seventh day I rest.” But that does not apply to the weather for men and women. There is also the weather and the weather forecast on Sunday. However, Frank is no longer around with more weather.
Frank’s farewell wouldn’t go unnoticed on the other VRT networks either. Among other things, VRT NWS attracts attention on all platforms from Het journaal to Karrewiet and nws.nws.nws. Nor does Radio 2 let our beloved weatherman go like that. Frank is not only the weather man for March 18th, but he’s also the weekly guest on Weekwatchers and also Goeiemorgen Morgen! and Ann & Daan ceremoniously bid farewell to Frank on March 20th.
