Britain's six million-dollar women storm America

Some of the UK's best young actresses are winning leading roles in US prime-time TV. Senay Boztas and Susie Mesure report

They are the six million-dollar women making it big in small-screen Hollywood. The outcome of autumn's ferocious ratings battle between the US networks rests on their honed shoulders. Yet they are not American but British.

Michelle Ryan, the former EastEnders actress, is just one of six hot UK actresses battling to be the queen of American prime-time television. Her martial artistry as Jaime Sommers in a remake of The Bionic Woman, a spin-off from the cult 1970s hit The Six Million Dollar Man, has stunned the critics by debuting with 14 million viewers. That made it NBC's biggest midweek premiere since The West Wing eight years ago.

Going head to head with Ryan is Anna Friel, the ex-Brookside star, who is wowing US audiences with her starring role as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles in Pushing Daisies. The murder mystery series with a supernatural twist has, like Bionic Woman, been snapped up by ITV for a UK screening early next year.

Also flying the British flag are Sophia Myles and Lena Headey. Myles, who has dated David Tennant since appearing in Doctor Who, is starring in Moonlight, a new vampire-themed crime series on CBS that aired on Friday night, while Headey, who played Queen Gorgo in the film 300, has scooped the title role in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a spin-off from the Terminator movies that has been bought for the V1 cable channel.

The fifth new face is the multi-talented Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who has garnered almost as much praise for her activities as a blues singer and playwright as for her star turn as FBI agent Vivian Johnson in the US series Without a Trace. And then there is Ashley Jensen, the British Comedy Award winner who hit the big time when Ricky Gervais's Extras was screened in America. She is now better known as Christina, the Scottish wardrobe mistress in the hit fashion comedy-drama Ugly Betty.

Two other names to watch in the US are Gina McKee, who was in Atonement, and Sienna Guillory, of Eragon fame, who have just landed lead roles in Fox's new family series The Oaks. Leading the British charge was Parminder Nagra, who walked straight from Bend It Like Beckham into a successful and long-term role as medical student Neela Rasgotra in the hospital drama ER.

Cat Deeley, the former children's presenter, is another British acting ambassador. She found American fame fronting Dancing with the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance?. In a session analysing the British invasion at last month's Edinburgh International Television Festival, Deeley said she was surprised to find that her Brummie accent was considered classy. "They haven't asked me to change my accent or my gestures at all. They just let me get on with it."

Some British leading ladies believe that a non-American accent gives them that extra edge. Shortly after filming the pilot for Ugly Betty, Jensen admitted that they changed the all-American role just for her. She confessed: "It was supposed to be American but then we met, and they said: 'We love your accent. It's so exciting!'"

But Michelle Ryan has taken on an American accent for Bionic Woman, where she plays a struggling barmaid whose body is rebuilt with top-secret technology after a car accident. And she has had to work on more than just her voice. "I've been working with Krav Maga teachers and instructors and a personal trainer for five weeks. I've been doing sprint training, cardio work, martial arts, life training," she said on the promotional website for the new NBC show.

An expert on US television, who preferred not to be named, said that a lack of Botox could act in the Brits' favour. "The younger actresses are different from the older stars – the Mirrens and Denches – because they seek to blend in. And unlike many US actors in their 20s, they are Botox-free so they can actually show emotions."

Vivian McGrath, director of Gecko Productions and producer of the Edinburgh TV Festival session, said that the more natural British style has its charm. "Certainly, Cat Deeley has been very successful because she is a point of difference to what Americans are used to: presenters being perfectly coiffed and looking almost the same Barbie character. What they loved about Cat is that she is totally fresh, different and unafraid of being herself, interviewing people and becoming one of them."

There are British female superheroes in the film world too, with Kate Winslet, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rachel Weisz all well ensconced in Hollywood. Kate Beckinsale was linked with the role of Wonder Woman in the forthcoming Justice League of America, but confessed to MTV that her mother "didn't believe in nylon underwear".

Jay Kandola, acquisitions director at ITV, said that Pushing Daisies, unusually, will be screened on ITV1, while Bionic Woman will be a flagship programme for ITV2. "It's fantastic to see Brits such as Anna and Michelle doing so well in the States and in true leading roles. They're great actresses and both play American characters. So while maybe there is some kudos to having a Brit among the cast, I think it's perhaps more to do with their genuine talent and ability rather than merely a sense of 'Britishness'."

Ashley Jensen

In: 'Ugly Betty'

Critics say: 'Best thing about the show'

Previous high: outshining Ricky Gervais in his hit comedy 'Extras'

Cat Deeley

In: 'So You Think You Can Dance?'

Critics say: 'The double Bafta winner is rapidly becoming one of the hottest faces on US TV'

Previous high: 'Stars in Their Eyes', 'SMTV Live'

Sophia Myles

In: 'Moonlight'

Critics say: 'This ethereal English actress is seriously talented'

Previous high: 'Tristan + Isolde'

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

In: 'Without a Trace'

Critics say: 'One of the UK's most talented, original and intelligent actors'

Previous high: Oscar nomination, 'Secrets & Lies'

Lena Headey

In: 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles'

Critics say: 'After years of bit parts, this looks to be Headey's big chance'

Previous high: 'Remains of the Day'

Further viewing: 'Ugly Betty' returns to Channel 4 on Friday at 9pm