Nigella Lawson makes return to The Taste in VERY low-cut dress

She's famously flirtatious when it comes to her style of cookery show.

And Nigella Lawson refused to turn down the heat when she made her first official return to primetime TV in the US on Thursday night.

The stunning celebrity cook was back as a panellist on The Taste, a hit American culinary series now in its third season.

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She's back: Nigella Lawson returned to US cookery contest The Taste on Thursday night

And the 54-year-old certainly made an impact with viewers watching from home.

Slipping into a low-cut cornflower blue dress, Nigella oozed sex appeal as she taste tested the contestants' mouth-watering creations.

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The panel  - consisting of Nigella, Ludo Lefebrve, Anthony Bourdain, Marcus Samuelss - all had to sample each of their teams' offerings.

Unfortunately for Nigella, her group's deep-fried macaroni cheese balls were deemed the least satisfactory, meaning she had to send one of her team home.

Test: The chef had to sample each of the four teams' offerings during the first round 

Tasty: The culinary queen made quite the impact in her cleavage-enhancing blue dress

American classic: Nigella's team went for comfort food in the form of deep-fried macaroni cheese balls

Hot under the collar: The star admitted she didn't realise how low cut her dress was until she watched the episode back

After a heart-wrenching choice, she opted to eliminate Renée Oteri Maynard, much to her chagrin.

But that wasn't the only blow the mother-of-two faced - she was left 'mortified' after realising just how much cleavage she had on display.

Taking to Twitter as the series premiered in the US, she wrote: 'I hate this. Sorry [Renée Oteri Maynard]. Keep on cooking Bad day at the office for #teamnigella.

'One last thing: I had no idea quite so much décolletage was on display; mortified. On top of everything else.'

However, she remained defiant, adding on the show: 'The people that succeed are the ones that keep on going after setbacks.'

Rivals: Nigella was up against fellow panellists Ludo Lefebrve, Anthony Bourdain, Marcus Samuelss

Tough choice: After her mac and cheese balls were deemed the worst by her fellow judges, she had to pick one of her team to send home

Farewell: Nigella was upset to have to pick competitor Renée Oteri Maynard as the first one to be eliminated from season three

Angry: The 54-year-old admitted she was struggling with losing the first round, tweeting: Going to sleep now, stricken. #theTaste'

It's a mantra that has certainly served the chef well over the last two years.

Her return to US TV comes after a lengthy battle to be allowed access to the country after she confessed to having tried cocaine during her highly-publicised legal battle against her former employees Francesca Grillo and Elisabetta.

The pair, who had worked for Nigella for over a decade, stood accused of spending £685,000 on credit cards owned by the TV star and ex-husband Charles Saatchi.

The siblings were eventually cleared last December.

The case impacted Nigella's professional life after she was barred from flying to the US in April. American authorities have the right to ban travellers who have committed drugs offences without ever being charged.

She was allowed entry in September and started work immediately on the new season of her hit show, which pulled in an average of 3.2 million viewers during its second season.

Biting back: At the end of the show, Nigella insisted: 'The people that succeed are the ones that keep on going after setbacks'

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