I Love Betty la Fea Plot

It had originally been reported that the Philippine version of "Yo soy Betty, la fea" was going to be called "Betty Na Mas Pangit" (The Uglier Betty), but eventually the title was revealed to be "I ♥ Betty la Fea" instead.

The series is set to debut in October 2008 with Bea Alonzo in the lead role. Early reports claimed that this Betty will be fatter and uglier than the other versions, and the story might be a mix of elements from the various other international adaptations.

The official announcement of Alonzo's hiring ended a long period of casting speculation, during which actress/singer/TV hostess Toni Gonzaga and her frequent co-star Sam Milby were mentioned for the lead roles of Betty and Armando. Before Gonzaga's name was attached, it had previously been reported that Regine Velasquez, the Filipina who is known as "Asia's Songbird," wanted to leave the GMA-7 network to star in a reported musical adaptation of "Betty, la fea" for rival network ABS-CBN, who bought the Philippine rights to the Colombian telenovela.

Ultimately, though, she chose to stay with GMA-7, so the lead part was put up for grabs again. Velasquez—a 38 year-old singer and star of television and films who has been in the public eye since childhood—was probably too old for the role anyway. After Velasquez chose to stay with GMA-7, the names of a handful of ABS-CBN stars were then mentioned for the plum role, including Valerie Concepcion, Mariel Rodriguez, Bianca Gonzalez, Anne Curtis, Toni Gonzaga, and Bea Alonzo.

People in the know insisted that the plum part would most likely go to Anne Curtis, who had plenty of practice playing the Ugly Duckling in "Kampanerang Kuba," as a reward for not moving back to GMA-7, but Gonzaga supposedly ended up winning the coveted role. The false news of Gonzaga and Milby's casting was probably derived from descriptions of their upcoming movie, My Big Love, in which Milby wears a fat suit and Gonzaga's character falls in love with him unconditionally, despite his appearance.

After the role of Betty was cast, inquiring minds once again focused on who would play the male lead role. Fans speculated that the part would go to Jon Avila, Luis Manzano, Piolo Pascual, Jake Cuenca, Aga Muhlach, or Bea Alonzo's frequent co-star, John Lloyd Cruz, who led all online polls as the Armand of choice for a large majority of fans.

 On Monday, June 30, 2008, ABS-CBN aired a teaser music video (to the tune of Mika's "Hey Betty, You are Beautiful", which was originally recorded for the U.S. version of "Ugly Betty") during a primetime telenovela called "My Girl". The video introduced Betty and some of the show's other characters, such as Armando's business rival, Daniella (Ruffa Gutierrez); Betty's childhood friend, Nicolas (Vhong Navarro); Betty's doting parents, Julia (Ai Ai delas Alas) and Hermes (Ronaldo Valdez); Betty's little brother, Andrew (Sam Concepcion); and about a dozen others. The only notable character missing from the clip was the male lead himself, Armando, who still had not been cast at the time the teaser aired. Ironically, the clip was introduced by Toni Gonzaga, who had been a top contender for the role of Betty. Apparently the early reports that this Betty would be fatter and uglier than other Bettys were false. Not only is this Betty not fat, she is not particularly ugly either.

In this version, the workplace is not a fashion house or a glossy magazine, but an advertising agency called Ecomoda Manila, or EM. In early August 2008, the internet rumor mill was naming Piolo Pascual as the show's Armando. When questioned about the casting rumors, Pascual only said that in deference to the producers' desire for secrecy he could not comment on the matter. Like many of the previous casting rumors, this latest one was soon proven to be false when it was finally revealed, with much fanfare on August 17th, that Bea Alonzo would once again be reunited with her regular romantic male lead, John Lloyd Cruz, much to the relief and delight of the staunch fans of this popular pairing.

Source: Tony's Betty Internacional