Amy Winehouse's mockney accent woos US ad giants

Two key brands being touted as possible suitors for Winehouse are Baileys Irish Cream and Southern Comfort as both are key ingredients in a cocktail called Rickstasy, a favourite of Winehouse as well as the late blues singer Janis Joplin.

Jeff Dorenfield, an associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, told the Sunday Times that Winehouse is a rare commodity for brands targeting young adults as she is seen as edgy and reckless. He also confirmed that students see her accent as a key part of her "rebellious" image.

Winehouse's star has been in the ascendancy in recent months in the US, where she has now sold more than 300,000 records and this month she appeared on the cover of US music magazine Rolling Stone, under the headline, "the diva and her demons".

Winehouse's popularity is part of a British invasion of US media in recent months, including Cat Deeley hosting reality show 'So You Think You Can Dance' and former Eastenders actress Michelle Ryan starring in a new version of seventies TV classic 'The Bionic Woman'.

Another British actress, '300' star Lena Headey, has won the lead role in 'Terminator' TV spin-off called 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles', which will focus on the Linda Hamilton character from the first two films, 'Terminator' and 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day'.

Numerous other shows have British actors leading them. 'Life', which is being hailed as the new '24', stars 'Band of Brothers' and 'Confessions of a Diary Secretary' star Damian Lewis and 'The Riches' stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver.

Other British successes have included another "mockney" singer Lily Allen, and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, who is to front a US version of his Channel 4 hit 'Kitchen Nightmares' on Fox this year