DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - LONGORIA PARKER DEFENDS HOUSEWIVES RATINGS SLUMP

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star EVA LONGORIA PARKER has defended the hit show - insisting the ratings slump was not caused by its creator MARC CHERRY's reduced input. The show attracted a high volume of criticism in its third season when ratings dipped 25 per cent on the two previous series - with blame placed on Cherry's decision to scale down his involvement in the writing process. But Longoria Parker insists the show was not a failure without Cherry's magic touch - pointing out that series three was her favourite as her character, Gabrielle, landed a stream of must-watch storylines. She says, "You can tell when he's written an episode or not or he's touched up a scene. He has a very unique tone to every word that he puts on the page. He's a genius. "The baby, the nun, the adoption, the maid - it was a fun arc for her (Gabrielle). I think every season has been unique. Season one was a phenomenon, (and) my favourite episode to date was the pilot, it was just incredible. (But) you can't relive that, you can't recreate that."