The UK’s original celebrity weather woman, Wincey Willis, has been burned at the stake in York.

Happily the former TV-am star survived the ordeal without so much as a blister.

York Dungeon is recreating the horror of 16th and 17th Century witch burnings in its most blood-curdling feature yet…Witches Burned Alive.

Its terrifying climax sees the accused – usually someone plucked randomly from the audience – apparently incinerated on a raging bonfire.

Dungeon boss Helen Douglas said: “It’s all smoke and special effects, of course, but it’s also a chilling reminder of a superstitious age when women, and in some cases men, could be condemned as witches on the most absurd grounds.

“Being able to forecast the weather would have been a hazardous talent indeed.”

Which is how the Dungeon persuaded writer and broadcaster Wincey to accept a hot date at their launch event.

She said: “The Dungeon invitation was so out of the ordinary I really couldn’t refuse and actually, although this is a recreation of horrible history, there are still aspects of modern society that resonate all too closely with those infamous witch trials.

“If Witches Burned Alive helps remind people of the dangers of prejudice and intolerance, then it’s something I’m very happy to support.”