JOELY RICHARDSON

Richardson - who plays Julia McNamara in the hit TV show - is going gay for the upcoming season as the lover of real-life lesbian Portia De Rossi.

And the 42-year-old is delighted with the twist because it has made her more popular with male fans.

She says, "I think it turns men on . When my character Julia was the married housewife, always chopping vegetables, people were sweet and lovely. But now I'm playing her as a sexy bitch with a big padded bra and a short skirt I get a very different reaction.

"I think men respond to the sexiness of two women being together."

Source: WENN