Michael Fish MBE

Michael Fish was Britain's longest-serving TV weather forecaster, and probably one of the best known. He was born in Eastbourne and educated at Eastbourne College. On joining the Met Office in November 1962, his first posting was to Gatwick Airport. He then transferred in 1965 to the Met Office headquarters in Bracknell to work on research projects. Whilst working at the London Weather Centre he took a sandwich course in Applied Physics at the City University between 1966-68.

Michael Fish's broadcasting career began in 1971 when he started forecasting for BBC Radio and in January 1974 became part of BBC Television's weather team and presented across all the BBC channels. He also appeared on BBC TV's Breakfast Time from 1985 to 1987 and on Breakfast News from 1991 to 2000. Michael was one of the longest serving Broadcast Meteorologists in the world, celebrating his 30 years of TV forecasting on 4th January 2004.

He has made many appearances on television and radio shows ranging from light entertainment to factual programmes. These have included Tomorrow's World and the Sky at Night to Basil Brush and the Val Doonican Show. He has also been involved in the training of television weathermen in various African countries.

He has written numerous articles on travel and weather and acted as consultant for several meteorological books In December 1996, Michael was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the City University in London and in August 1997 was granted the Freedom of the City of London. Having been nominated in 2003 he finally won the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) Award of TV Weather Presenter of the year in 2004.

In 2004 Mike was made an MBE, an award of which he is very proud, in recognition of his long service forecasting weather for the British public.

Michael lives in Middlesex and is married to Susan, with two daughters, Alison and Nicola. A Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, his hobbies include travel, after dinner speaking, giving illustrated talks, and chilling out...

FAQ - Michael Fish
Find out the answers to some of your most frequently asked questions to the forecasters in our team. Here we quiz Michael Fish on your behalf...

What did you do before becoming a weather forecaster?
At first I worked as an observer in the Met Office at Gatwick and Birmingham airports, after studying Physics at City University. I was then involved in research work at the Met Office headquarters before becoming a forecaster at London Weather Centre.

When did you become a weather forecaster?
I became a national radio broadcaster in 1972 and started on national TV in January 1974. With over 25 years of unbroken appearances I became the longest serving presenter.

Why did you want to be a weather forecaster?
I am not sure that I did initially. A vacancy occurred and I happened to be in the right place at the right time and was 'volunteered'.

Did you get nervous before a broadcast?
Not really, except when the weather forecast changes just before I appeared, or the computer collapsed.

Did you ever make any mistakes?
No. Except for the hurricane, with a little help from my 'friends'.

Was your job hard?
Yes, very. When I started we only did two broadcasts lasting a total of three minutes. Now, there are so many and each broadcast has to be different and many can be seen through out the world. I also worked shifts covering 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and even in off-duty time there were still letters to answer and talks to give.

Did you enjoy your job?
Yes, because no two days were the same. Also weather forecasting is big business these days, and climate change and pollution are of such importance that there will always be the need for meteorological information.

Could anyone do your job?
Only after attaining good exam results at university, then having many years of training in the Met Office. A thick skin and the gift of the gab are also essential. A pocket screwdriver to keep the computer running helps!