DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star MARCIA CROSS fears the hit US TV show is on the cusp of a vicious backlash.

The 43-year-old redhead actress, who plays uptight housewife BREE VAN DE KAMP, is amazed by the show's current popularity, but doesn't expect it to last.

And she predicts many of the show's big stars, including Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria, will abandon the drama in favour of better projects should ratings wane.

She says, "This show will have its day where no one is interested - or we will get out before that happens.

"But certainly I'm not really pretty clear about the ebb and flow of life. Life has cycles and they are inevitable."