Desperate Housewives return in blaze of airbrushed glory

Marcia Cross, Nicollette Sheridan, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman are pictured strutting out of a firey blaze looking flawlessly bronzed and lean, thanks to some heavy-handed airbrushing.

With not a twin set in sight, the sizzling new shot is in step with the program's revamped catch-cry - 'It's A Hell Of A Day In The Neighbourhood'.

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Spoiler alert!

The creator Marc Cherry promises the show will return with a bang, and has revealed Sheridan's character Edie Brit - who appeared to kill herself in the cliff-hanger final episode of season three - will return to the show.

He told the Orlando Sentinel: "There will be an appearance by Miss Sheridan in our first episode, and it will be amazing."

American showbiz bible Entertainment Weekly has speculated that Edie might replace Brenda Strong, whose character Mary Alice has been narrating the show from beyond the grave since the series began.

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Cherry also revealed Teri Hatcher's unlucky in love character Susan will "try, not so successfully, to settle down to domestic bliss" with her new husband Mike (played by James Denton), while Eva Longoria's Gabrielle is set to begin an steamy affair with her tempestuous former husband Carlos (Ricardo Chavira)

Meanwhile, the reason Bree (Marcia Cross) has staged a fake pregnancy will be explained and Felicity Huffman's Lynette will continue her battle with cancer.

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Her fight be both emotional and comical, explains Cherry: "What we wanted to do is examine the effects illness had on family and friends. We don't want to do some ridiculous she-might-die thing."

"That's not our point in dealing with the disease. It was mostly to see what being sick does to you and the people around you. And in the second episode, we do a fascinating story that one of the women doesn't respond well to Lynette's illness."

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A gay couple is also set to move into Wisteria Lane, and are set to shake things up.

Cherry said: "I'm going to have the first male Desperate Housewife. They move on the street, and they have as many issues as any couple."

The new season premieres in the US on September 30 and is expected to air in the UK next year.