Hugh Laurie is no English gentleman. You may only have known him previously from Jeeves and Wooster, but the gentleman is just a role he plays, extremely well. He also satirized a multitude of recognizable figures from history in Blackadder, and did a cameo try out for House in Sense & Sensibility where he played the grumpy husband who cannot bleieve he married such a twit female.
While Laurie is indeed thinking woman's crumpet, this is an odd thing for me because my eldest brother is a dead ringer for him! Except my brother is just a total sweetie!
I'm watching House, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy all on DVD, all season 2's because I don't pay for cable, so it's DVDs only. I tried 24 but could not get on with it and many of the others I have never heard of. I hated the British original of The Office, I recognized some of the character types and it was uncomfortable (!), so I won't be watching, ever, the US version of it!
Clare