IT'S an earworm — once heard never forgotten. You'll be singing it in the bath and humming it while you floss your teeth.

Even Ninette Hartley, the singer on Push A Little Button, the ubiquitous track in question, admits it has an all-pervasive way of worming its way into the inner recesses of your subconscious.

"It's a very catchy little song," she laughed. "Once you've heard it, it's annoying, you can't get it out of your mind."

That said, Ninette, admits that after 44 years she had almost forgotten the singable refrain. Although she'd heard it a few times on the radio over the years, she actually recorded Push A Little Button, when she was 15.

The now retired dance teacher, who used to run her own West Buckland-based dance school, admits she was pretty stunned, therefore, to hear it being used as a soundtrack on the latest TV licensing ad.

"I couldn't believe my ears and, of course, I recognised it within the first few notes. I said: 'That's my song'. Then I laughed: 'That's me singing on the television'. I couldn't get over it. It was really funny."

The song was written by Ninette's astoundingly talented brother, Tony Hatch. Some may remember him as the Simon Cowell of his day, giving his somewhat blunt appraisals on the judging panel for talent show, New Faces.

However, even if you don't know the man you will certainly know his music. As well as writing such massive hits as Downtown for Petula Clark or Sugar and Spice for the Searchers, he also wrote the theme music for a whole gamut of soaps, films, and TV programmes including Neighbours, Crossroads and Emmerdale.

"He's done a whole lot of things that people don't actually realise," said Ninette. "They are always amazed and ask: 'Did your brother write that?'. When you look at what he's done it's incredible."

Ninette reveals her brother wrote Push A Little Button as a gentle warning against automation.

"He decided to do this gentle little folky song and he thought it would be nice to do a song with me."

The catchy track may have lain dormant for more than four decades but its airplay on the TV licensing ad has caused quite a stir, so much so that Universal Records have now made it available to download on iTunes and Amazon.

"I was amazed at the interest in it," added Ninette, who is perhaps better known in North Devon for dancing rather than singing.

Her own dance school, the Ninette Hartley School of Dance, which later became the Hartley Williamson School of Dance now based in South Molton and run by Maralyn Williamson, is renowned for its ballet.

"I specialised in ballet and took a degree in dance education with the Royal Academy of Dance," said Ninette. "It was wonderful time. Along with Maralyn Williamson, who ran the school with me, we always liked to put on a yearly production, a proper ballet. The school still does this and it's a wonderful experience for the young dancers. It's become one of our little trademarks."

Ninette, who now lives in Italy, always returns to see the dance school's productions. Indeed, it was during her recent visit to North Devon to be a judge in the school's choreography competition, that she heard her own singing voice on the TV. Fond memories came flooding back.

"At the time the song didn't really do very much although I did a couple of TV programmes. It was really exciting for someone who was 15. I loved being in the studio, doing the record and being on TV. It was great."

● Push A Little Button is available to download on iTunes and Amazon.

● The Hartley Williamson School of Dance has been putting on classical ballets at the Queen's theatre for 10 years, alternating between known classics such as Coppelia and The Nutcracker and their own creations, one of which, Summer's Dream, had a full score written by Tony Hatch. The school offers ballet classes for children aged three years to adult. It also runs jazz classes. For further information phone: 01769 540615.