ASHLEY JENSEN - JENSEN PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO STRIKING SCREENWRITERS

JENSEN PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO STRIKING SCREENWRITERS

UGLY BETTY star ASHLEY JENSEN is backing the Hollywood writers' strikes by vowing to join the picket lines as soon as she returns to Los Angeles. The BAFTA award-winner - who plays wardrobe assistant Christina in the hit U.S. TV series - is angered by the treatment of screenwriters in the U.S. film and television industries, and believes they have a right to demand more pay. Speaking at Cosmopolitan's Ultimate Women of the Year Awards in London on Tuesday (06Nov07), she tells WENN, "It's a major concern out there, especially on the big chat shows like Letterman and Larry King. But it's a good thing to be honest. They deserve more money, I'm fully supportive of the strikes, and when I'm not working I'll be picketing too." Strikes began earlier this week (05Nov07) after talks with studio representatives failed to resolve a dispute over royalties. Picket lines were set up outside studios in Los Angeles and New York, after The Writers Guild of America asked its 12,000 members to stop working. The last strike by screenwriters, in 1988, lasted a crippling 22 weeks.