Rachel is hot to trot

She hit the headlines with pictures of her amorous clinch with ex-love Robbie Williams.

Now statuesque model Rachel Hunter is caught in a clinch of a different kind.

Rod Stewart's former wife takes to the dance floor with Strictly Come Dancing's Brendan Cole in a festive special of the show to be screened on Christmas Eve.

And judging by these shots of Hunter in action, she knows how to move on the dance floor just as well as on the catwalk.

Hunter, 36, who appeared in the US version of the show, and Cole, 29, will compete with five other star couples in the one-off BBC1 special on Saturday night.

This year's surprise Strictly Come Dancing winner Darren Gough takes to the floor again, as do fellow contestants Zoe Ball, Colin Jackson and James Martin. They will be joined by US boxing heavyweight Evander Holyfield, who is swapping his gloves for sequins to take part.

Insiders have claimed that Cole - who left his partner Camilla Dallerup for a fling with Strictly Come Dancing costar Natasha Kaplinsky - has

been "pulling out all the stops" to charm Hunter.

The pair have been rehearsing together for several weeks and one source said: "Brendan has been laying on the charm with a trowel." He was reportedly overheard telling a friend:

" She's the best woman I've ever been paired with."

Hunter, who has two children, has been single since splitting from ice hockey player Sean Avery this summer. Previously she had a high-profile fling with Williams during which she was photographed naked with the pop star beside a pool.