Vanessa Williams Joins Cast Of “Desperate Housewives”

Vanessa Williams has joined the cast of ABC’s Desperate Housewives!

Williams — who departed her role as Wilhelmina Slater when the network pulled the plug on Ugly Betty last month — is venturing over to The Alphabet’s other hit dramedy to stir up a ruckus on Wisteria Lane, TV Guide has learned.

Just a few weeks ago, talk show chatterbox Wendy Williams squealed that Desperate Housewives was a casting an African-American actress to fill the prominent role of an “intelligent restaurteur” on the show. Now we know it is Vanessa who will appear as a series regular on DH next season.

“I’m a big fan of Vanessa’s work and I’m so excited that she’ll be moving into the neighborhood next season to cause trouble in all the ladies’ lives,” says series creator Marc Cherry. “But don’t expect Vanessa to be at the center of next season’s big mystery. “I think our mystery is going to involve Paul Young [returning cast member Mark Moses].”

In related news, on Sunday night, actress Dana Delaney wrapped up her two season run on Desperate Housewives for the new ABC show Body of Proof.