UK Edition
Feeds
Why do you think Desperate Housewives has been so successful around the world?
"I think that it’s so amazing that people from all over the world watch this show. We're just in our little hubbub of our little lives in Hollywood. I'm just little me with my house being torn apart right now. It’s strange to think people are watching me on the show everywhere."
Why is your house being torn apart?
"I'm doing a lot of construction to it at the moment."
Was that due to the forest fires in California last year?
"No, no. God. How awful was all that? Really awful. I don't think I answered your question, though… What is the secret of the show's success? You know what? I don't know. I feel like it might have been a timing thing. People were ready to hear this kind of topic the way it was presented – it was the right time. If you'd done this show five years earlier or now, maybe nobody would watch. I’m glad they do, though. I’m having as much fun as ever with the show. I hope it continues for years to come."
Are you still enjoying working on the show?
"Of course I am. I really love the character of Susan and I think this season is a great one to watch. I’m really proud to be part of such a successful show."
Who is your best friend in the cast?
"In the cast? Wow. I don't know if I could pick one person. Everybody offers such different things to each other. I mean, I was just telling Marcia Cross that I found a grocery store where you can order your groceries online and get them delivered to your home. She was like, 'How do you do that? Where do you get that? I need that.' So I emailed her information on the grocery store in her area that would be able to do it. I feel like there's all sorts of things that go back and forth between all of us."
You’ve become a bit of a role model since your first book, Burnt Toast: And Other Successful Philosophies Of Life. In it, you talked of the sexual abuse you faced as a youngster and how you helped bring the perpetrator to justice. Have you got any plans to write again?
"I am writing another book, which will address women, multi-tasking and all those sort of issues that all women face. You know, I love women. I am only just learning how to do things – like be a mum, work and do everything – the same things every other woman is dealing with."
Was it difficult to write about the abuse you suffered as a child?
"In terms of the abuse, I wrote an article for Newsweek a while ago and it got a lot of response from presidents of abuse networks and organisations that are still saying no one is doing anything about this. I can’t believe no one is talking about this. Abuse is still happening, so it made me feel that I had better keep talking about it. When Newsweek came to me and said, 'We do this article called Turning Point. What's a turning point for you?' Of course, I could have picked Desperate Housewives or I could have picked the birth of my daughter. But it felt like an opportunity – an appropriate opportunity – to bring that up again. I think people have to keep talking about the things in the world that aren't right, you know. And that's just one of them."
What’s the title of your new book?
"There's no title yet. If I had to say what it was about right now, it's about women. It’s about living life in a multi-tasking world, in a world that demands you be this multi-tasking woman who has to get up in the morning and do this and that throughout the day – to change five hats to be all these different things to all these different people. I’m going to write about what that feels like and how to do it better."
Desperate Housewives airs Wednesdays at 10pm on Channel 4.
