Cat Deeley ditches fun side for bad girl role

NEW YORK (AP) — U.K.-born and bred Cat Deeley has found a place in Hollywood, thanks to hosting the Fox dance competition show, "So You Think You Can Dance," which will launch its 11th season next month.

The Emmy-nominated TV personality also has a role in the Hulu original comedy series "Deadbeat." A 10-episode first season is posted on the website.

"Deadbeat" stars Tyler Labine as a pot-smoking slacker named Kevin who also happens to be psychic. He finds a nemesis in Camomile, played by Deeley, a psychic who has built an empire out of faking her ability to communicate with the dead.

"My character is a real baddie," said Deeley, 37, in a recent interview. "She is rotten to the core. She's vile, she's manipulative but she plays America's sweetheart, giving people closure."

Deeley talked about "Deadbeat," her character and "So You Think You Can Dance," which premieres its new season on May 28, in a recent interview.

AP: You've done guest spots on TV shows, but not everyone knew you could act.

Deeley: I don't think I knew I could act in all honesty! (Laughs.) I'm normally on live TV. If you make a mistake you just kind of ride with the punches and have a sense of humor about it. It was very different for me but I did really enjoy it.

AP: I feel like your character on "Deadbeat" is like a nightmare version of Oprah Winfrey.

Deeley: (Laughs.) Doing a life class! But a life-after-death class on OWN!

AP: Do you have the acting bug now? Do you want to try drama?

Deeley: I don't know if I could do something like "Schindler's List" or something like that but I was very, very lucky that I got to work with a really good team off the bat. ... I had to learn off the hoof.

AP: "So You Think You Can Dance" is about to start its eleventh season. What do you say about that?

Deeley: Crazy. We're getting 18-year-olds that are turning up that have been waiting to audition for the show. It means that we're still relevant within a dancer's career, which means that we'll still manage to find people. Our audience who watches the show tends to stick with us. You either don't know that the dance show even exists and it's not on your radar and you've never seen an episode or you are a member of our audience that watches our show religiously and you know it's coming on in the summertime. It will not have been the juggernaut that "American Idol" has been in the past because it doesn't appeal to everybody but there's a core audience that watches the show and that's why we're still going.

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Follow Alicia Rancilio online at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar

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Online:

http://www.hulu.com/

http://www.fox.com/dance/