Blond drops brunette bombshell

BROWN is definitely not the new blonde.

Sex in the City star Kim Cattrall went from sexpot to house-frock when she was branded a dowdy, mumsy figure after hiding her famous blonde tresses under a brunette wig.

The 46-year old, who plays shameless strumpet Samantha Jones in the popular TV3 show, was almost unrecognisable when she appeared in the wig at a New York fashion show.

One attendee said: “Everyone expected this blonde sex bomb. In real life, Kim looks positively mumsy.”

Catrall has split from her third husband and the more conservative new image is believed to be an attempt by Cattrall to signal a move away from the wild antics of her TV character.

“I am not Samantha. Being so closely connected with a character for five years is wonderful and gratifying, but it’s not me or who I am. Unlike her, I am sexually fulfilled,” Cattrall told a Hollywood magazine recently.”

The wig was chosen for Cattrall by Patricia Field, responsible for creating the much imitated styles of Sex And The City styles. But Irish fashion stylists have criticised her new image.

“I think it was a very bad move because she’s added 10 years to herself. As women get older, they should lighten the hair colour, not darken it,” said Stephen Kelly, a hair stylist with Peter Marks in Dublin.

But in her search for a new husband, Cattrall will be heartened by recent statistics which show even James Bond does not prefer blondes. In the 20 films, the British spy has encountered 58 Bond girls; 29 were brunettes, 25 were blondes, and just four were redheads.

Cattrall is still contracted to appear with her blonde hairstyle in the sixth and final series of Sex and the City, which begins shooting next month. More than 179,000 Irish viewers watch the series on TV3 every week, including over a third of women aged 15-34.

Speculation is already mounting about how long the new look will last. “It’s great if she’s looking for more attention. But she should change back. Blondes have more fun anyway,” said Mr Kelly.

But Cattrall may be glad of a break from the endless dumb blonde jokes.