Sarah Connor, the character made famous by the muscular actress Linda Hamilton in Arnold Schwarzenegger's second Terminator film, is back in an American television spin-off, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It has premiered to rave reviews and more than 18m viewers - but there is a problem. The British actress who plays Sarah, Lena Headey, has been widely criticised for her inadequate physique.

Hamilton's strength was such that she is credited with having dragged a generation of young women into the gym to build up their biceps. But Headey, a 34-year-old actress from West Yorkshire, is a "twig of an action heroine", according to the Boston Herald. The Los Angeles Times noted that while Hamilton was "a butt-kicking inspiration to millions of women", Headey is "healthy looking and attractive but not exactly Ms Olympia".

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