10 Best Performances In How I Met Your Mother

10. Britney Spears - Abby

Whatever your thoughts on Britney Spears, there can be no denying that she was made to play Abby. The receptionist at the dermatology clinic of Stella, she briefly appears in the episode Ten Sessions, portrayed as a naive and sensitive woman who forms a crush on series protagonist Ted Mosby.

In the end, she goes out with Barney, only to be broken by the fact that he never called her again. She reappears in the episode Everything Must Go, where it's revealed that she has been sabotaging Barney's hook-ups as revenge for his betrayal. This vengefulness is quickly forgotten when the pair decide to team up against Ted, who Barney has fallen out with and Abby still obsesses over.

Spears is great fun in the role, hilarious, ditzy and cool, and though she's only around for a brief spell (and gets promptly, jarringly forgotten about), she makes a great impression and proves her salt as a solid comedic actress.