Debra's still Messing about

There are those in Hollywood who say Debra Messing can be difficult. Maybe. But not today. Today the blazing redhead is wearing black, looking cool and taking a break from shooting her new film Lucky You.

She is also being quite as warm, charming and adorable as Grace Alder, her alter-ego on the hit sitcom Will & Grace. The show came out of nowhere seven seasons ago, conquered the homophobic heartland of America and made a struggling actress and her co-star, Eric McCormack, household names as a neurotic interior designer and a gay lawyer caught up in a platonic yet oddly romantic relationship.

The tone is upscale Big Apple: camp with with selfdeprecating Jewish accessories. And it's made Messing the highest-paid actress in American TV comedy - and possibly the best loved.

Anyone who's seen the ground-breaking show - globally we're talking close to an audience of a billion people - will recognise the conversational and behavioural tics of the world's most famous fag hag.

When Messing/Alder laughs, which is often, she throws her head all the way back and her bonfire curls cascade. Just like Grace, Messing jokes about her boobs: 'Sorry, but they're natural.' There are sudden, blurted confidences about her husband, actor Daniel Zelman: 'We literally starved together as New York actors.'

There are unexpected displays of emotion, such as when she talks about her one-year-old son, Roman: 'Nothing else matters like motherhood. It's such a relief to be released from the actress' self-centredness. I used to think I was a considerate, compassionate person.'

There's even a blast of Messing/Alder anger at the US tabloids for the way they hounded her about her figure after giving birth: 'It's obscene and unfair to all women. It takes nine months to go through that transformation, and everyone should presume it will take another nine months to get back in shape. For four months I was holed up breast-feeding and looking into my son's eyes. I didn't want to lose time with him because I was sweating in a gym.'

If it's a performance, it's convincing - and in a good cause. Rumour has it Will & Grace is nearing the end - 'There's no word on whether we'll be coming back in the autumn, but we're hopeful' - and Messing has her first movie as a leading lady to launch. It's called The Wedding Date and it's Messing's chance to cash in on her popular appeal.

She plays an insecure single New Yorker who hires Dermot Mulroney's male escort (aka prostitute) to accompany her to her sister's nuptials in London in the hope of making her ex-boyfriend jealous enough to want her back. Naturally, the odd couple fall in love.

American reviews were tepid, but Messings sky-high 'Q' rating (it's a top-secret showbiz popularity index) instantly kicked in, shifting fans from the sofa to the multiplex en masse. Yes, it's only taken $31 million at the box office so far, but as Messing points out, it was an indie project shot on a shoestring in just over a month - and mostly in Guildford, of all places.