Drea De Matteo - New Housewife Drea De Matteo

Drea De Matteo insists she isn't a replacement for departed 'Desperate Housewives' star Nicolette Sheridan.

The former 'Joey' star is the newest resident of Wisteria Lane, playing Angie Bolen in the US TV show, but is adamant her character is not a maneater like Nicolette's alter-ego Edie Britt.

She said: "I think that had they tried to replace Edie, they would have gone for someone ten years younger and 30 million times hotter than me!"

The 37-year-old actress also revealed Angie has a few surprises for the other characters - which include Gabrielle Solis, played by Eva Longoria-Paker and Susan Delfino, who is portrayed by Teri Hatcher.

She said: "She's a New Yorker who's never lived in the suburbs before - so she's a scrappy 'street' kind of girl. She's a good mom and loves her son more than anything in the world, but she's definitely been in trouble in the past so she has secrets."

Drea - who quit acting because she wanted to spend more time with boyfriend Shooter Jennings and then fell pregnant with daughter Alabama Gypsyrose, now two - thinks 'Desperate Housewives' is the perfect opportunity to get back into work because she's such an "obsessed" parent.

She said: "It's a perfect situation. I don't stay away from her for more than four hours ever at a time. I'm obsessed with her. I feel like the biggest a**hole talking about myself when really the only thing I care to talk about is her."