‘I’m terrified of the skimpy outfits’

She’s the tall and gorgeous newsreader we see S presenting BBC News, but Kate Silverton says that despite her excitement at taking part in this year’s Strictly, showing off her legs in the revealing costumes is going to be a challenge for her. She reveals, “I’m sort of having to go over this hill of absolute terror about the skimpy outfits I’ll be wearing. There’s no hiding place and, being a mum at 48, I’ve been asking questions about how short my skirts are going to be. I haven’t worn a skirt this short since I was at high school, playing netball!

LIBERATING

“I don’t ever get my legs out. But I think that once I’ve done it on the first live show, it will be liberating. There’s an element of ‘do you know what? This is who I am!’” The mum of two – who is partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec – says that the revealing outfits haven’t been her only concern. The 5ft 10 presenter says that dancing has never come naturally to her – and that being lifted up by a man is going to be a new experience.

She says, “Honestly, clapping in time is a struggle for me. In rehearsals, I’m being dragged across the floor, and it’s like watching a giraffe on the move. I’ve also never been lifted by a man and, at the first rehearsal, I was lifted by the gorgeous new professional dancer Graziano. It was mortifying!”

IN GOOD HANDS

Kate isn’t the first newsreader to take part in Strictly – previous presenters Susanna Reid, who starred in 2013, and Katie Derham, who took part in 2015, both made it to the final. And Kate says that she’s gone to her fellow newsreaders to get advice.

She says, “Katie has told me to stock up on blister plasters and knee supports. It was amazing seeing Susanna go from round about where I am to practically winning the show. It just shows how good the pros are – we’re in very good hands.”