“Earlier on today, apparently, a lady rang the BBC and said she heard that there was a hurricane on the way. Well don’t worry if you’re watching, there isn’t.”

That was what BBC weatherman Michael Fish said in his infamous announcement in a live broadcast several hours before the the hurricane hit on October 15, 1987.

The quote, probably one of the best known lines in British weather forecasting history, has followed the 68-year-old TV forecaster around like a bad smell for the past 25 years.

The video clip was sampled in a track called Weather Experience by band The Prodigy and even featured during the London 2012 Olympic ceremony.

But Mr Fish has always maintained his comment did not even refer to Britain.
“My remarks referred to Florida and were a link to a news story about devastation in the Caribbean that had just been broadcast,” he said.

“The phone call was a member of staff reassuring his mother just before she set off there on holiday.

"It’s a bit annoying really as it is always misreported.

"I did broadcast saying ‘batten down the hatches, there’s some really stormy weather on the way’ - if the full clip was used all would be revealed.

"I wish I had a penny for each time that clip had been broadcast, I’d be a millionaire!”