Ugly Betty star America Ferrera is no fan of TV shows like Gossip Girl and The Hills, saying she thinks they encourage women to be hostile towards one another.

America, who plays hapless assistant Betty in the hit US comedy, told Seventeen magazine. “Close, genuine female relationships are not what generally gets depicted in movies and TV shows.

“Like, if you’re watching The Hills or 90210, all the backstabbing shapes the way we act - you go to school, and you think your job is to find a sworn enemy and be jealous of each other.”

She went on: “I mean, I love Blake (Lively) she’s a wonderful friend of mine, but shows like Gossip Girl kind of condition us to be mean. I’ve worked with other girls before and it was pretty catty.”

But America reveals she had no such trouble working with Blake, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel in the Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants movie.

She said: “It was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had with girl relationships.”