Hudson 'joins Sex and the City'

The Oscar-winner will play Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) assistant in the film, according to US trade paper Variety.

The eagerly-awaited film reunites Parker with her TV co-stars Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon.

The popular Sex and The City TV show followed the social and sexual adventures of four Manhattan women.

TV awards

Michael Patrick King, who executive produced the series, has written and will direct the film.

Shooting is due to start in New York on 19 September.

The film will revolve around the lives of the four main characters - Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte - four years after the end of the TV series, which ended in 2004.

Based on the book by Candace Bushnell, in started in 1998 and went on to win numerous awards.

An estimated 10.6 million people in the US saw the show's climax and final scene involving central character Carrie, while more than four million people in the UK watched the final episode on Channel 4 in March 2004.