DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - SHERIDAN STUCK PLAYING 'STROKE VICTIMS'

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star NICOLETTE SHERIDAN credits the hit TV show with rescuing her ailing career - because she could only win parts playing "stroke victims" beforehand.

The actress, 41, admits she was struggling to maintain a profile in the tough small screen industry after her seven-year role in 1980s soap KNOTS LANDING ended in 1993.

And following a succession of humiliating movie roles, she became disillusioned with acting and decided to embark on an alternative career as a scriptwriter - until Desperate Housewives changed her mind.

She says, "Before, it just happened that I'd been playing a lot of stroke victims. There were a couple of movies, mostly made for TV, in which I'd either been a stroke victim or going through seizures. It was either that or playing someone's mother.

"In fact, not long before Desperate Housewives came along, I'd decided that I was going to write a TV show of my own, featuring the sort of character that I wanted to play - a strong, sexy, confident, funny role."