To a generation of fans, Kim Cattrall will forever be maneater Samantha from Sex And The City.

So it might seem strange that the actress is putting aside her New Yorker persona to play a British divorcée onstage in London.

Before taking on the role, 53-year-old Cattrall had to first perfect an English accent.

'I'm not calling home as much as I used to because I start sounding American again,' she told the BBC.

Over here: Kim Cattrall and Matthew Macfadyen are set to star in Private Lives by Noel Coward at the Vaudeville Theatre in London

Although she was born in Wavertree in Liverpool, Cattrall's family emigrated to Canada when she was just three months old, returning when she was 11 for five years.

'I've been around British accents all my life. But I've worked quite hard to get it right,' she said.

Cattrall worked with a dialect coach and watched the BBC to perfect her accent.

She says she feels very British, and has lots of family here, including an aunt who works for Marks & Spencer.

Playing a Brit: Cattrall worked with a dialect coach and watched the BBC to perfect her accent

She will be putting her accent to the test when Noel Coward's Private Lives opens at the Vaudeville Theatre in London tomorrow night, following a brief run in Bath.

Directed by National Theatre former boss Richard Eyre, it's the tale of a divorced couple who discover they have adjoining rooms while honeymooning with their new spouses.

Cattrall plays Amanda, opposite Robin Hood star Matthew Macfadyen as Elyot.

Stage role: Cattrall plays a newlywed divorcée who discovers she is honeymooning next door to her ex-husband

Cattrall has just finished filming the Sex And The City sequel but, despite being three-times divorced, she insists she is not like her most famous character.

'As you can see, I don't talk like Samantha or act like Samantha unless I'm paid to,' she said.

'In some ways, I wish I was more like her, she's so ballsy.'