LOS ANGELES, 10 December 2005 — As we cross the halfway point of the hottest show of the year “Desperate Housewives” we caught up with the gorgeous Teri Hatcher who plays Susan Mayer the divorcee and single mom to catch up on the latest gossip on Wisteria Lane.

Q: Just for fun, how are your very own housewives skills in real life?

A: I’m pretty on it. I’m a good cook. I’m into it. I enjoy it. I’m creative. That’s something I like to do, so I do that. Party throwing, Easter egg hunts, Super Bowl parties, craft parties, Mother’s Day, soap making for the children parties, I’m kind of all over it, I guess.

Q: Teri, we haven’t seen you for quite a few years. Was it because projects didn’t come along that you wanted, or because you wanted to concentrate on being a mom?

A: It was because I wanted to concentrate on being a mom. I mean, my mom worked from the time I was three months old, and I was an only child, sort of with baby-sitters and parents working, and I just didn’t want to have a kid that way. I always thought if I could pull it off financially, I would want to be home, and so that was really the driving thing. But when it started feeling like I was going to get divorced, and the financial situation in my life was going to change, it became more apparent to me that I was going to need to go back to work.

Q: Was it hard to find projects at that point?

A: I was definitely on the C-list or something. Maybe lower. I don’t know. And I think that there were always jobs for me to do, but they weren’t necessarily jobs I wanted to do. And so one of the most grateful things about this job is that it is something I actually wanted to be at and do. I feel that it is going to take me to a new level.

Q: Did you use real-life friends or knowledge for your own part as reference material?

A: Well, my best friend, Jill, is really Lynnette, and I think of that. She’s got two kids that — you know, it’s a very loud household and disorganized and messy, and — you know, but she’s loving and great and all those — all these great qualities, so that’s pretty clear for me.

Q: But did you use for your own part for someone you knew?

A: I am not Susan. But I guess I’m some exaggerated version of myself. I mean, I’m not the parent that Susan is at all.

Q: But do you know any people around you that you use for a reference to play your own part?

A: Not for Susan so much, I guess, no. I didn’t really look. I don’t think I approached it that way. It just sort of came from some more instinctual something.

Q: You play somebody who’s divorced and getting back into the dating scene. It’s really cute how you kind of get nervous and talk to your daughter and ask her advice. I mean, it seems sort of to parallel your own life.

A: Actually my thing would be the opposite there. I feel very strongly about never bringing a man anywhere close to my daughter in my home. I think it is too confusing, and it’s too much — it would be too much for her.

Q: You’ve been with your daughter all the time all these years, and for her it must be different. “Oh, my mom is famous. Everybody’s looking at us. What is going on?”

A: She’s really cool. Like I said, we keep the media out of our lives. Our sort of thing that we do that — you know, camping, walking, hiking, baking, crafts, playing with our friends — that sort of stuff doesn’t really change.

Q: Have you had any incidents with the paparazzi? It seems everyone wants a slice of the Desperate Housewives?

A: My daughter and I had a crummy incident with the paparazzi, and I did sort of have to kind of really have that sit-down, explain conversation. It was really charming to do it to a seven-year-old. And first, I had to explain, “Well, they’re making money with their pictures. And just like mommy has a job and makes money to pay for the house bills, these people take pictures to pay for their house bills. And that’s what they’re doing. They’re not going to hurt us, but that’s their job. We don’t like it, but that’s what they’re doing.” “Well, why does anybody want a picture of us buying groceries?” “Good question. I don’t really know.” And I said, “I guess people just want to know that we do the same regular things that they do, and that’s why it’s interesting to take a picture.” And she innocently replied, “Well, I just wish they would ask my permission first.”

Q: Are you looking forward to discussing the salary for the next season?

A: My lawyer is very much looking forward to it. I’m not thinking about the size of it.