BBC newsreader Kate Silverton unveiled a “sultry” and “sexy” new look on Strictly Come Dancing as Jessica Rabbit.

The usually prim and proper newsreader, 48, donned a low-cut red dress and a matching wig for the role.

She stumbled down the steps after flashing a leg through a curtain but soon recovered and won plaudits from the judges on movie week.

Silverton’s dress was slashed to just above the navel as she appeared as the screen character.

Her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec donned bunny ears and a tail.

Craig Revel Horwood said that the dance was “very sultry, very sexy and seductive”.

Fellow judge Darcey Bussell told Silverton: “Don’t worry about that little stumble, that was divine”, while head judge Shirley Bussell said the newsreader had the “sensuality” of Jessica Rabbit.

Viewers said that the “transformation” was “amazing”.

It comes after Silverton said the BBC1 show has spiced up her marriage.

The newsreader married Mike Heron in 2010.

She previously told Good Morning Britain: “My husband is very cool with it [appearing on Strictly] and, more to the point, loving the impact that it’s having on his wife.”

When GMB host Piers Morgan asked for more detail, she replied: “No, It’s early morning.”