America 'confronts fears' ahead of West End debut

Ugly Betty star America Ferrera says making her West End debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago is forcing her to confront her fears about performing.

The actress, known for wearing dental braces and eccentric outfits in the hit US comedy, will play an altogether more glamorous role when she steps into the shoes of the scheming killer.

America, who is following Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams, Denise Van Outen and pop star Ashlee Simpson in the role, said appearing in the West End was on her 'bucket list'.

She said: "The main reason I wanted to do this was... it was going to force me to confront a lot of fears and obstacles and it's certainly doing that, challenging me."

The actress, who is in rehearsals at the moment, said: "It only takes watching a real dancer for a minute to remind myself I'm not a dancer."

America, who will step on to the stage at the Garrick Theatre in London on November 7 when she begins an eight-week run, said it was fun to play such a 'guiltless and unashamed' character.

She said: "I wouldn't say she is a role model for how we should base our morals and what we want out of life, but she is wonderful to watch and wonderful to play in the sense that she is just exactly who she is."

America added that a film version of Ugly Betty was not 'in the works' at the moment, but refused to rule it out, saying: "I don't think that that's a real thing at the moment. Anything is possible I think, we have an avid fan base that has been campaigning for that a lot."