Chat Ed : Hello and welcome to tonight's live ER chat with Alex Kingston! Alex is now with us!
Debs : Hi Alex
Sid and Chung : hello
Dr Mario : Hi Alex

Alex Kingston : Hello, it's Alex here aka Dr Liz Corday.

Debs : How are you?
kit_rosenburg : Hi. Alex
vicky from west suss : hello
roxy : Hi alex
Sinclair : Hi Dr Nick!....uh i mean Alex, Hi Alex!

Alex Kingston : I'm looking forward to answering your questions and I hope you enjoyed the episode that was just on air.

DaScape : What's the hardest thing about being an English actor in the States?

Alex Kingston : Ah, the hardest thing. Well I suppose on one level, playing an English character makes it very hard for Americans within the business to see me as anything other than this character that I play. I know that I have a lot more range than that, but it's hard to get that across when you're playing the same character week after week and she happens to be English.

emma : how hard was it to film the final scenes with anthony edwards? they brought just a few tears to my eyes!

Alex Kingston : They brought more than a few tears to my eyes. In fact I think I could have bottled my own salty water from my tears! Extremely hard. From the moment that Corday discovers that his tumour is back, I as Alex would just be weeping uncontrollably - the poor make-up man was having to constantly re-apply my eyes because they were so red!

Dr Mario : Does Carrie Weaver really need a stick in a real life?

Alex Kingston : She doesn't. When Laura first came on the show she just came on as a sort of guest/recurring artist in the first season and she chose to have a crutch. Now it's 8 years on and she wishes that she hadn't!

Michael : How easy was it breaking into american tv, were they looking for an english actress or were you just to hard to resist?

Alex Kingston : Aah, very flattering!
Alex Kingston chuckles
Alex Kingston : I know that the producers had been talking about introducing a foreign doctor onto the show to be in line with reality. I had been promoting Moll Flanders at the time in the US, so I was in the right place at the right time too so it went on from there really.

Becca : Did being a mother help with the scences with Ella? It was some of the best ER i've seen!

Alex Kingston : I don't know whether it helped necessarily. I would hope that I would feel as strongly towards the baby playing Ella before I had my own baby as after, but I certainly do know that now I am a mother I have much more protective feelings towards any child that I see in pain or discomfort and I felt very, very badly for the scenes where I had to act with her.

blue_jamie : Do you miss the UK while you're filming out there?

Alex Kingston : When I'm filming I don't miss the UK necessarily. I don't have time to think about anything else really. I don't get time to read the papers and know what's happening in the world. We sometimes work 16 hour days so it almost consumes you. But it's nice to be back in England this time.

crfc001 : If you came across a medical emergency, do you think you could cope with knowledge from ER? For example, an RTA?

Alex Kingston : Not at all!
Alex Kingston chuckles

Gemzini : Are you following the world cup and if so will you be cheering on England or USA?

Alex Kingston : Actually Germany!
Alex Kingston laughs
Alex Kingston : I was disappointed by England's performance the other day and I don't hold out much hope for Friday. My husband is German you see, so I have to support my old man.

Lynsey : Was there any particular reason why Doc Greene has left the show? Was it his decision?

Alex Kingston : It was absolutely Anthony's decision to leave the show at this point and I don't think he would mind me saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family - he has 4 young children who were born within the time he was on ER and I think they do deserve to see a bit more of their daddy.

crfc001 : Is there any major or minor spoilers you can reveal?

Alex Kingston : Ooh, well, we've finished the season so I guess you know pretty much what's coming up here in England and everyone knows that Anthony leaves at the end of the year. As for next season, I honestly don't know. They don't tell us anything. All I can say is I am not going to be sleeping with Robert Romano! But I'm sure Kerry Weaver could do wonders with her crutch!

DrNickRiviera : how did you find doing the episode of ER that was LIVE?

Alex Kingston gasps
Alex Kingston : Oh that was my first episode! It was certainly different and everyone was in a flap. I didn't have very much to do really and nobody really knew who I was at that point and it felt a little like standing in the middle of Waterloo station in rush hour where everyone else was crowding and standing around me. It was a little bit like that.

george : How much time do you get off between series? And does it allow you to do other stuff? I guess that Croupier was filmed before you started on ER.

Alex Kingston : On the whole we break mid-April and resume the next season in mid-July so that allows time to do another project within that. It was rumoured that I was doing something this summer in England but the likelihood of that happening is very slight, considering that I don't even have a script yet. I'm certainly looking to do other projects in the holidays.

Jessics : Whos the best kisser Peter Benton or Mark Green?!

Alex Kingston : That's a real toughie!
Alex Kingston ponders
Alex Kingston : Well, I don't know whether I can answer that! I'm trying to remember the size of Peter Benton's feet, he has something like size 15 feet, so that might say something! They both kiss differently though.
Alex Kingston chuckles

Stubee : What would be your ideal role, the one you were born to play?

Alex Kingston : I don't think I would like to have an ideal role necessarily. I would hope that I was born to play many roles and that I was somebody who had immense versatility. Maybe when I'm a lot older I might look back and think 'ooh that was my favourite role', but as of yet I don't know what I'm born to play.

susanfrancess : you're great alex - have you thought of doing any theatre back in the uk?

Alex Kingston : Oh yes I would LOVE to do that. Unfortunately the amount of time that one needs to give, including rehearsals and at least a 6 week run, it sort of makes it impossible for me at the moment while I'm still working on ER. I'm very envious though of all the people working on stage at the moment - there's an energy on stage that you just can't beat.

s : hi alex do you think that you would be able to cope with the real thing in the u.k's NHS ?

Alex Kingston : I haven't been to a hospital in England now for 5 years, so as a Labour supporter I would hope that they've been trying to improve the NHS, but from what I've heard things haven't really changed much. I hope that's not the case.

clare whatmore : Do you know who will be the next new cast member, if there is one, who will take up the slack when Mark Green goes? Us girls have got to have a replacement!! I'm bereft as it is, just thinking about him not being there.

Alex Kingston : To be honest I don't know whether there will be a replacement for him as yet. We have 2 new cast members who joined last year and I think they will be more solidly established next season. I think that dynamic could be really quite exciting. I think Carter, in a funny sort of way, will step into the shoes that Dr Greene left behind.

Harmesh : Have you any hollywood roles in the pipeline?

Alex Kingston : No, I would love to do a movie at some point, or a cameo in a movie but I think I'm probably quite hard to cast.

georgina rup : Did you go to stage school and if not, how did you get your big break?

Alex Kingston : I studied at the Royal Academy of Drama Art and once I graduated I spent years and years in theatre up and down England, learning my craft and it's something that I would recommend to any aspiring actor or actress.

Gaz H : How do you see your future career - how long are you planning to stay with ER, and what do you hope to do as and when you leave?

Alex Kingston : My contract with ER ends in 2004. I think NBC's contract with ER ends in 2004 as well if I'm not mistaken. So it's whether the whole show will be re-newed. I have no plans to leave as I love the show. As far as I can see, I'll stay on as long as the show runs.

JoanneJ : Do you get recognised a lot in the States now when you go out?

Alex Kingston : I do yes but the beauty of living in LA is that there are much bigger fish than me and the inhabitants of LA are very blase about seeing celebrities. I've had more recognition here in England. I've been approached much more here than in the states.

smellycat : Is it true that there are plans to return to more traditional treatement techniques in ER, like leeches and lemon juice?

Alex Kingston : smellycat...is that my sister!?
Alex Kingston laughs
Alex Kingston : Actually they do use leeches in the English hospitals. I was stunned when I was doing my research. I mentioned it to the ER writers and they said that the public wouldn't like to see that so I think the answer is no.

Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for coming Alex and thanks for all your questions. Hope you all enjoyed it.
Arachnid : Thank you
haggis : hera is a big hug, it hink u r great, keep up the good work
Sophie : thanx for talkin, you're a brill actress
Jo Ang : ALL THE BEST
susanfrancess : THANX FOR ALL THE HAPPY HOURS YOU HAVE GIVEN US ON ER
lauraloo : thanx for talking to us & keep up the good work!we all love u all!
janey : byebye
PinkSparkle : Thank-you for your time Alex. Much Appreciated!
groodamoo : byeeeeeee
kit_rosenburg : thankx Alex
Shakil : we love u
Harmesh : I think I speak for all of us in saying that you are an amazing actress, thank you for speaking to us all!
GARETHHAKAK : THANK YOU ALEX
Tala : THANK U ROCK!
Tigrou : thanks for spending time here byeeee

Alex Kingston : That's really nice. Stick through to epsiode 22 because it takes a long time for Greene to die and if you like surfing you'll like his send-off!

Damian : goodnight sleep tight thanks for the show
HelenT : your great Alex!!!
Paul N : Thanks Alex, always nice to hear from the cast.
Caz_gobby : Send our love to all on ER!

Alex Kingston : It's great to be back in England!
Alex Kingston leaves the room