Bionic role for ex-EastEnder Ryan

The 22-year-old, who played Zoe Slater in the BBC soap for five years, beat a host of Hollywood names to the role, according to industry paper Variety.

She will play Jaime Sommers, a tennis professional whose body is rebuilt with electronic parts after an accident, giving her superhuman abilities.

The original show, which began in 1976, starred actress Lindsay Wagner.

The pilot show for the US network NBC, will be a "re-imagination" of the original, said the producers.

The programme was a spin-off from the hit TV series The Six Million Dollar Man, starring Lee Majors.

The bionic woman's limbs allowed her to outrun a car and lift heavy objects. She also had a bionic ear with enhanced powers of hearing.

Ryan has recently appeared in the British romantic comedy Cashback, and will soon be seen opposite Billie Piper in the ITV adaptation of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park.

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