LOVE her or loathe her, Weakest Link presenter Anne Robinson is firmly entrenched as one of this nation's celebrity faces.

So when a tourist attraction dedicated to gruesome horror wanted to launch a show called Wicked Women, the caustic star was an obvious choice to do the honours.

A waxwork of the acerbic Robinson was shipped to York Dungeon from its partner attraction in London to launch the exhibition yesterday.

For Dungeon actress Marianne Sellars that meant a chance to get her own back for the verbal roasting she was given on Robinson's quiz show.

"I've played many wicked women during my time, from barbaric cannibals to Lady Macbeth, so intimidating Anne Robinson should be no problem," she said.

Wicked Women sets out to prove that the history of villainy has not been the sole province of the male.

Among the femme fatales featured are Elizabeth I and Mother Shipton, and sisters Helen and Elizabeth Drysdale, who poisoned their lovers in 1647 in Clifton, York.

"They were a particularly evil pair. The acid took more than an hour to kill their lovers," said York Dungeon manager Helen Douglas.

"After they were convicted, the sisters were publicly hanged and then their bodies were handed over to the city's surgeons for public dissection."

Wicked Women will remain on show throughout the summer.