A bizarre story circulating this morning suggests that on the original casting wishlist for The X-Files was … Pamela Anderson!

Anderson, according to an interview given by Gillian Anderson, was the preferred choice of 20th Century Fox for the role of Dana Scully. And while it was Gillian Anderson who snagged the role, and was catapulted to international stardom as a result, she’s quoted as saying that at the time, "they were looking for someone bustier, taller, leggier than me. They couldn't fathom how David and me could equal success... At the beginning, nobody trusted that I could do anything”.

We’re happy to go out on a limb here, and suggest that had Pamela Anderson snagged the role of Scully, the show would have had a much shorted lifespan. Unless they got the Hoff to play Mulder, of course. But that’s just common sense...

The X-Files: I Want To Believe hits UK cinemas on 1st August 2008.