Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows) had no reservations about expressing her feelings about the hit show she stars in when she declared that CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a "damned good show."

Speaking to BBC Radio (via Elyse's CSI Site), Helgenberger called the show "very stylish" and praised the complex mysteries that drive CSI. She revealed that many of the cases on the show are based on real life cases, and that the writers often query homicide detectives for ideas for episodes. "The strangest ones are based on real cases," Helgenberger said.

The work can sometimes be unsettling. "I try to leave it at work," Helgenberger said of the more disturbing cases her character tackles. But the gory details might also be part of what draws CSI's sizable audience. When asked what she thinks makes CSI so popular, Helgenberger theorized that, "People are attracted to it but repulsed at the same time." However, when Helgenberger saw the quality of the scripts for the show, she had no doubt it would be a success. "I knew it was going to be a hit," she commented.

When asked if Catherine's relationship with Gil Grissom (William Petersen) might ever turn romantic, Helgenberger said she didn't think the prospects were good. "I doubt it will be any kind of an intimate relationship,” the actress commented. “We always will have some closeness, but I think we have just a marriage of the minds, the two of us, and he's great to work with--Billy Petersen ...A bit of yin and yang in that relationship, for sure."

When the subject turned to CSI’s spinoffs, Helgenberger was less enthusiastic. Though she noted that she couldn’t think of another show that had produced as many spinoffs in such a short amount of time. But she also noted that the spinoffs draw away some of the CSI creative talent from the first show. “I kind of liked it when we were the only game in town,” she said.

To listen to the audio recording of Helgenberger's interview, please visit BBC Radio. To read a transcript of highlights from the interview, check out Elyse's CSI Site.

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