Ilene Chaiken

Ilene (when asked about her favourite character on "The L Word"): I love all of the characters equally, and I say that as a parent - you know I have eight-and-a-half-year-old twin girls, so I know that I have to tread that line. But there are two characters on the show that I channel through personally - that is, my own personal issues are taken up by these two characters in different ways - and they are Jenny and Bette.

Ilene (on Helen Shaver guest-starring on "The L Word"): I actually chose Helen Shaver because she's such a good actor, and certainly I knew her first from "Desert Hearts" - and that performance left a profound impression on me. But I've known her work and encountered her over the years, and I have to admit that I cast her because of her strength. I knew that she would just tear that character up.

Ilene: We've been so starved for representation - and yes, gay men have also been underrepresented, but it just doesn't begin to compare to the invisibility of lesbians in the world up until recently. I think the surge of responses has really been indicative of that.