Of course, the irony about the Betty of the title is that she is not ugly. Yes she is short and dark with huge framed glasses and a mouthful of metal braces - but remember that beauty is only skin deep. Inside Betty Suarez is caring, hard working, kind and generous, and loves her family.

The worlds of beauty and the beastly might not have clashed if Betty hadn’t decided she wanted to work in magazines. Not just any magazine, but at Mode - the hottest fashion magazine around.

Modelling her poncho, a souvenir from Guatemala and not quite in the same league as a Prada version she saw, Betty (America Ferrera) applies for the job of assistant to the magazine’s new boss Daniel (Eric Mabius). He’s taken over following the death of the legendary editor of Mode, Fey Sommers. Of course, it helps that his father Bradford (Alan Dale) owns the publishing house.

The decision to put Daniel in charge creates a lot of ill-feeling, especially from the woman who had her eye on the job, Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams).

Bradford, tired of his son’s habit of taking the word “personal” too literally when it comes to his personal assistants, decides that if he is to concentrate on his work, he needs an unattractive assistant who will keep him on the straight and narrow. And this is where we came in.

Ugly Betty was a big hit in America this autumn, and most of that must be down to the gentle charm of America Ferrera. She manages to chart a course through some pretty obvious territory and makes her character seem natural and real.

Betty, of course, will prove that looks aren’t that important; it’s the person inside that counts. The awful people plotting to put her down will be dealt with and Daniel will grow to realise that his relationships are shallow and that someone like Betty (but it would be a real cop-out for it to be Betty) is the kind of person he needs. But don’t expect this all to happen next week.

The show does make some waspish comments about the transitory nature of the fashion and beauty world which are well placed, even if the whole appearance of Betty is bordering on a cliche.

Not groundbreaking, cutting edge, or even easy to pin down to a particular genre, but entertaining enough. It also marks the American debut of Extras star Ashley Jenson. Nothing earth-shattering from her, but a pleasant performance.