Ex-Neighbour a Star in US

Dunedin-born Alan Dale has scored a lead role in yet another hit US TV series. Fresh from his success in The West Wing, CSI: Miami and The O.C, Dale is now playing publisher Bradford Meade in the Golden Globe-winning comedy Ugly Betty. “Ugly Betty is a unique ugly duckling story,” says America Ferrera, who plays Betty, the frumpy assistant to the editor of a leading fashion magazine. “It’s not about her becoming a gorgeous swan; [rather] you’re waiting for people around her to realise she already is a beautiful person.” 59-year-old Dale was a well known actor in Australasia (Flying Doctors, Neighbours) before making the move to LA in 1999. “I felt that in my 50s if I didn’t do it now, I never would,” he said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “I must admit I didn’t really think about it too much. If I had, I wouldn’t have come.”