Miss Scotland 2015 Mhairi Fergusson represented Scotland at Miss World 2015 and reached the top 20 making her country and fans proud. The former beauty queen is currently in Johannesburg, South Africa as she has landed her first major TV role in uBettina Wethu, the South African re-make of international hit series Ugly Betty.
uBettina Wethu airs on SABC1 - which reaches over 30million viewers - and Viu streaming services - which has 36 million active users. Mhairi plays Betty’s friend and receptionist Amanda Tanen, while Betty is portrayed by South African Actress and Comedian, Farieda Metsileng.
On her experience filming the show Mhairi shared, “It’s amazing being part of such an incredible TV series, filled with such talented actors. We can have weeks where we’ve to be on set 6 days a week with early starts and late finishes. However, it’s because of this that the cast have become so close, sometimes you forget you’re at work, then you realise you’re in full wardrobe.”
Mhairi broke out the news on her social media in a post as she wrote, “Hello Nubia, Amanda speaking. So excited to finally share the news that I am playing the iconic Amanda in Ugly Betty South Africa, uBettina Wethu very lucky to be part of such an amazing production with the most talented, incredible people.”
Speaking about her role and the journey towards it she added, “I sent my audition tape from Scotland in the middle of lockdown, 4 days later I was living in SA, it was all very quick and exciting. As I grew up watching Ugly Betty, I was familiar with the characters, however, my role as Amanda is more empathetic than the original. Amanda is actually Betty’s friend and helps guide her through certain setbacks she faces and would do anything to help her succeed.”
The show has been airing for past two months and has become huge among the audience. The cast have wrapped filming season 1, which has 52 episodes and are preparing to film a further two seasons. Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama based on the Colombian telenovela ‘Yo Soy Betty, la fea’ which holds the Guinness World Record for the most successful telenovela in history. The series has been adapted in over 20 countries.
The Scottish beauty is ecstatic and humbled by the response and is excited for her journey ahead in the industry. She visited the country on a modelling contracts but the opportunities caught hold of her and now it’s acting for her. Mhairi loves modelling but she loves being on sets and playing a character and bouncing off other characters.
Congratulations Mhairi for making it into the acting sphere and being a pride for Scotland and the Miss World fraternity.