Yes, it's that time of year again! The success of my previous Sexiest Women On TV lists has ensured this will be an annual treat to blow away those winter blues. As usual, SWOT10 will feature a selection of talented, beautiful ladies who graced UK televisions last year, in what's become the biggest list yet...
As always, there's a key rule regarding who's eligible: only actresses that starred in a TV drama/mini-series during 2009 as a regular or recurring character can be included -- which means no presenters, athletes, or even actresses from a sitcom. So, let's get started with Part 1 and #57...
Pushing Daisies was mown down by ABC last year, but I daresay Anna Friel will find herself more work in the States very soon. Her American accent's impeccable (I actually prefer it to her native Rochdale brogue, too) and she's cute as a button. She also appeared in her first big-budget Hollywood movie this year, Land Of The Lost, and is now starring in the West End stage version of Breakfast At Tiffany's. A very lovely, dainty actress. (UK, DOB: 2 July 1976)
She's been acting less than a decade, but Annie Wersching chalked up plenty of guest-starring roles on the likes of Star Trek Enterprise, Charmed and Cold Case, before getting a recurring role on US soap General Hospital. However, the beautiful redhead's big break came last year, appearing opposite Kiefer Sutherland in the seventh season of 24 as sexy, freckled FBI Agent Renee Walker. (USA, DOB: 28 March 1977)
Torchwood was rationed out as a five-part special last summer, and Welsh actress Eve Myles rarely gets a chance to show a sexier side to her character there -- despite the fact Gwen Coopers seems to have a penchant for black leather. It's a pity, but there you are. Maybe she can put her above Santa costume to good use in a Christmas special someday. (UK, DOB: 8 July 1978)
She's the MILF mum in E4's teen-comedy The Inbetweeners, but Belinda Stewart-Wilson got a chance to spread her wings by playing a posh badgirl in monster-hunting series Primeval last year – opposite her real-life husband Ben Miller, no less. (UK, DOB: 16 April 1971)
A fresh-faced actress who's mainly appeared in theatre, but in 2009 Lara Pulver co-starred in the third series of Robin Hood as Isabella – a sexy love-interest for Robin, who eventually turned into the show's devious, Disney-esque villain. (UK, DOB: 1 September 1981)
Most famous as one of the glamourous maneaters in ITV soap-drama Footballers' Wives, but now Laila Rouass is fighting dinosaurs and monsters as a new recruit in Primeval. She topped her "comeback year" by appearing in Strictly Come Dancing, before being voted off a few week's before the final. (UK, DOB: 22 June 1971)
A relative newcomer, smiley Lenora Crichlow came to many people's attention playing the eponymous role of "Sugar" in teen-drama Sugar Rush, but is now best known as Annie the ghost in BBC3's supernatural comedy-drama Being Human. She also had a small role in ITV1's five-part series Collision. (UK, DOB: 4 January 1985)
She always reminds me of a sketch drawing from a 1920s catalogue, or something. The talented Gretchen Mol perked up the Life On Mars remake as love-interest Annie, providing one of very few reasons to tune in every week. A delicate, slim, classy beauty, who can next be seen in Boardwalk Empire later this year, playing a showgirl in the 1920s. See! I told you. (USA, DOB: 8 November 1972)
She's the more homely, girl-next-door type in NBC's Chuck, and thus kept out of the action, but Sarah Lancaster still holds a special place in many fan's hearts. A very beautiful young woman, once known for her role in Saved By The Bell: The New Class, curvy Sarah will hopefully get a chance to do more than play support. (USA, DOB: 12 February 1980)
Irish actress Elaine Cassidy put on a perfect American accent to play heroine Abby Mills in CBS's Harper's Island, becoming a Scream Queen for the smallscreen in '09. Fresh of face and curvy of lip, Elaine brought a definite sexy charm to the role as an intrepid survivor. (IRE, DOB: 31 December 1979)
Recently best-known for her role in Californication as a sex-crazed young woman, which afforded lots of topless scenes, Madeline Zima jumped into Heroes for its fourth season last year, playing the lesbian roomate of Hayden Panettiere's character. Many a male fantasy was born, and I'm sure the slash fiction archives nearly exploded when the two actresses kissed on-screen. Madeleine's has a kind of quirky, which gives her a certain allure. (USA, DOB: 16 September 1985)
She didn't have much of a role in Battlestar Galactica's final season, sadly (which was responsible for her drop down my chart), but Lucy Lawless still retains a place in geek hearts, as memories of the leatherclad Xena: Warrior Princess still refuse to budge. (NZ, DOB: 29 March 1968)
Introduced as the perfect girlfriend on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, it was easy to see why Thomas Dekker would fall head-over-heels for girl-next-door Leven Rambin; the effervescent blonde with the beaming smile and beestung lips. She can now be seen in Grey's Anatomy. (USA, DOB: 17 May 1990)
The days of playing sly-eyed badass Gretchen in Prison Break are over, capped by taking her enjoyably twisted character into a girl's only prison for the TVM. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe was last seen in an episode of The Big Bang Theory, but here's hoping her combination of smouldering goodlooks and threatening sneers come back soon. (USA, DOB: 10 October 1978)
As the lead in Fringe, Anna Torv still has a strange disconnect with me. She sometimes comes across as less human than some of the monsters on the show. I'm all for tough, no-nonsense blondes with FBI field training, but I wish some of Anna's radiance and smiles came through occasionally without it feeling so incongruous. (AUS, DOB: 15 April 1979)
We've seen the end of Katee Sackhoff on Battlestar Galactica now, and her next role is as a computer analyst in 24, which doesn't sound like a very good use of Katee's charms. If you like blonde tomboys who could probably take you in an arm-wrestle, look no further. (USA, DOB: 8 April 1980)
If they ever do a remake of The Avengers, Keeley Hawes would be the ideal Mrs. Peel. Currently still lost in the '80s for Ashes To Ashes, Keeley's essentially a thirtysomething version of Keira Knightley. Impeccable accent, cute features, big smile, slim body, and plenty of upperclass panache. (UK, DOB: 10 February 1976)
PART 2 ==>
