Walter later ends things with Gina and tries to convince Betty to take him back. However, they are interrupted when Daniel walks in, so Betty tells Walter to leave, after which Daniel makes a passionate plea to her to return after seeing her layout proposal. Betty eventually returns and in the process not only saves the campaign, but also his job. Meanwhile, Wilhelmina pays a visit to a person whose face is partially wrapped up and it is discovered that the two are already discussing behind-the-scenes sinister plans to take over Meade Publications. While she looks in the mirror, she also says that they should keep a close eye on "...that damn ugly assistant..." America Ferrera was cast as the titular character, after Hayek approached her about the role. Ferrera said she read the script and "fell in love with the character". Ferrera compared Betty to Bridget from "Bridget Jones's Diary", calling her an "underdog". In February 2006, Christian Toto from "The Washington Times" reported that Eric Mabius had joined the cast as Daniel Meade, the son of the publisher who was made editor-in-chief of "MODE". Actress Charlotte Ross was originally cast as Wilhelmina Slater, but she pulled out before filming to join the pilot for ABC comedy show "Pink Collar". Vanessa L. Williams replaced Ross. Becki Newton did not expect to get the role of receptionist Amanda Tanen, after she attended two unsuccessful pilot auditions on the same day. Of her casting, Horta said "We were trying to find a girl that is gorgeous and funny, and that's a lot tougher than you think. It's really rare. And Becki came in and she was beautiful and she just nailed it." Michael Urie knew that his role of Wilhelmina's assistant Marc St. James was a one episode appearance, as an original story idea had Wilhelmina firing her assistants each week. Urie explained that he only had a few scenes in the pilot, but Williams made sure he stood close to her, so they could perform some funny moments together and then she would "bark" the character's name, so his scenes were not cut. Urie became a series regular when Horta noticed that he had good comic timing. Ana Ortiz originally auditioned for the role of Betty. She made an effort to change her appearance for the character, but she knew she was not right for the part. She said, "I was super plain.