Wanted: A Few Good Women

For the Armitage Army. Who are the Armitage Army? The legions of discerning women who have discovered the smouldering talents of Richard Armitage. Above is a clip from North and South from Elizabeth Gaskell's book of the same name (not the miniseries from the 80's starring Patrick Swayze and Lesley Ann Down.

Here he is snogging Dawn French as Geraldine the Vicar of Dibley (proving that he even loves full-figured women as well!)

I'm not the first woman to discover Richard Armitage, but now it seems like everyone is watching North and South and joining the Army (Amanda, your secret decoder ring and life-size poster are in the mail). Recently Kwana, Megan and Kristie J. have joined the Army.

Why Richard Armitage and why now? Could it be because in North and South he plays the ultimate smouldering alpha male, John Thornton, the owner of a mill in Northern England? Is it the lips? The beautiful light brown eyes? The way he can be stern and cutting at one moment and then tearing his heart out to throw it at Margaret Hale's feet? Sigh!

And don't even get me started on Guy of Gisbourne, in the otherwise forgettable and regrettable Robin of Sherwood. He makes being evil look good and he's redeemed by his love for Marian who for some reason prefers the punk who lives in the woods that claims that he's Robin Hood, but he's such a wimp, I don't believe him. Seriously, she'd be much happier with Sir Guy, even if he is evil, as long as she gets him to wash his hair occasionally.

Richard Armitage is from Leicestershire in England, and he has that sexy Northern accent that Sean Bean has (although SB is from Sheffield as Michelle Cunnah likes to remind me). Why I never ventured into the North of England, I'll never know. Apparently they breed them differently up there.

Kwana writes that she hopes to write a hero worthy of RA. He certainly fills my writing dreams.

I could easily imagine RA playing a sexy Regency vampire, all smouldering and wearing black as he sinks his teeth into your neck. Or a sexy but rebellious vicar who comes to the village in Victorian Engalnd and turns everybody's life upside down, including the uptight widow who's family own the living. How about this, RA is a sexy and smouldering former soldier in Wellington's army who comes back all broken and shattered by his experiences in war, and has to be nursed back to health and love by the widow of his best friend who has been left destitute after her husband's death (actually I think Mary Balogh wrote this already). Or a sexy pre-Raphaelite artist, and the model who must work to pay for her 12 brothers and sisters so they don't have to slave in the factories and get addicted to gin. Not too mention the good old-fashioned boss/secretary Harlequin Presents story. So many fantasies, so little time. Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?

Thank god I bought that region free DVD player so that I can indulge my addiction and purchase some of Mr. Armitage's performances that aren't available on this side of the pond. But good news for Armitage lovers in the US, the new series of Robin Hood will be shown on BBC America as of the end of April. A good time to start subscribing to Satellite or DirectTV if your cable company doesn't have BBC America (Thank you TimeWarner Cable, it's the only good thing to come out of the huge amount of money I pay you every month).

So if you haven't joined The Armitage Army, what are you waiting for? It's certainly the only Army I ever want to join. Pick up a copy of North and South here.

Or just rent it from Net-Flix. You'll be happy you did.