... are the.hottest.thing.ever.

Seriously. And even more so when everybody around the speaker is American, cause it makes them sound so much more sophisticated. I just don't get why Brits on TV have to swap their hot accents for an American one. I've always been pissed off about Louise Lombard not having her real accent on CSI, especially because her American accent is kinda bad. It would make her even hotter, if that's possible.

But anyway. I looooove to hear Rachel Shelley (TLW) and Marsha Thomason (Las Vegas) talk. It's even more fun when they curse. And uhm... Simone Lahbib anyone?

...in Eastenders had a bit of a fling with a female character!  

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=1796001690959494356

Ok, so I remember these things :-)

Anna Friel was involved in the first prime-time lesbian kiss on UK TV back in '94.  It was on a soap called Brookside and caused such an uproar that it was cut from the omnibus later in the week.  I was a mere 9 years old, but I remember watching it.  The episode is actually currently available to download on 4oD, so I have downloaded so I can relive what was probably my first exposure to lesbianism!

 Other British actresses going American include Natascha McElhone in Californication and, of course, Joely Richardson in Nip/Tuck.  It would be great if Brits could play Brits, but I guess I can deal :)

i heart Lena Headey.  and Michelle Ryan as the Bionic Woman (although since i know her better as a 14-year-old in EastEnders, that is actually rather perturbing).

but Anna Friel is one of the bona fide goddesses of the British small screen; she was in a seminal moment in UK tv history when her character (Beth Jordache) in the Channel 4 soap, Brookside, was not only an out character, she had her first on-screen kiss with a girl.  this was at the height of Conservative rule in Britain, so lots of outraged headlines followed.  but you know what?  the sky didn't cave in, and it didn't convert millions of questioning teenagers (more's the pity!).  never mind that she murdered her father (a drunk thug) and buried his body under the patio; the right wing were more concerned about her being gay.  does any of this sound familiar?  (cf the 'outrage' - hey, i think i just coined a new phrase! - about Dumbledore being called gay.  the press care more about that than they do about Iraq, economic meltdown, environmental disaster, and so on....).

anyhoo, glad to hear she's making your acquaintance, y'all!

I remember when Anna Friel was in Brookside as Beth Jordache. She and her mum killed her violent dad and buried him under the patio. Meep.She was also involved in a controversial lesbian kiss as mentioned above. I remember watching it even though I can only have been 10 maybe. There are lots of clips on youtube but this one shows the infamous kiss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDqTBr0Yls

I didn't like Michelle Ryan in Eastenders and to be honest it put me off watching Bionic Woman!!

Living in the south now I am dubbed by my friends as the "yankee" because I have that hybrid Philly/Jersey accent. I don't consider that an accent but I digress. I am friends with some foreign women that when they speak I am enamored, really. I love all different types of accents so when Michelle Ryan dropped her British accent on us BW watchers her hotness factor spiked and she was a better actor (I thought anyway).

But yea, the whole point is accents are hot! : )

Man I love Sophia Myles. Her biggest role in the US was probably Tristan and Isolde (she played Isolde, of course), but I think the movie was doomed by its inclusion of James Franco. I remember her from Underworld, but she really really impressed me with her turn as Madame Du Pompadour in an episode of Doctor Who. She's the entire reason I watch Moonlight, and so far I'm not disappointed (despite the at-times awful writing, she handles herself really well). I'm hoping the increased exposure leads to some good stuff for her in Hollywood in the future.

I love Lena Headey she is just so sexy :D I had a huge crash on her .

And Anna Friel is so adorable :D I didn't know the BIONIC WOMAN is English :D

This may change your feelings slightly about the British accent, but I just wanted to share with my American cousins the one abiding memory I have of Michelle Ryan.  No matter how hot she looks these days kicking ass on BW, whenever I picture her this is what I will see:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWM43B9nUow

Thank you to all the readers who posted video links! I had heard about Anna Friel's Brookside kiss, but had never seen it - I ended up watching about an hour of clips from the show. It seems like it was done pretty well, especially for the time, and Anna Friel was brilliant. I, too, had the pleasure of seeing her here in NY a few years ago, on the stage in 'Closer'. A terrific production and cast.

 Regarding the Brit accent, I'm a fan of the less commonplace (on Yank tv) Northern accents, a la Liverpool, Leeds, Yorkshire in general - yowsa, I say. C'mon you reds LOL

I first saw Sophia Myles in the terrific adapation of Mansfield Park, with Frances O'Connor. I knew that Kate Winslet had a younger sister who was also acting, and I assumed it was the younger Winslet, seriously! I think they look remarkably alike, and considering my feelings about Ms. Winslet, this is not a bad thing at all...