Drea de Matteo Joining Desperate Housewives

The housewives of Wisteria Lane are soon to get a new neighbour -- Drea de Matteo from the Sopranos. De Matteo is sure to bring some mob flavour to the Desperate Housewives set that has lately come to resemble a crime drama. The blonde beauty, an Emmy award winning actress who is to play the matriarch of a newly arrived Italian family, will be a regular on the hit show. Insiders say de Matteo will bring some needed edge in the wake of Nicolette Sheridan's character's departure last season. The Italian housewife is to have a yet to be cast landscape designer husband and a wound-up son.