Barton 'hard-working, always on time'

Ashley Madekwe has claimed that Mischa Barton is "really professional on set".

The Secret Diary actress, who starred alongside Barton in the now-dead CW series The Beautiful Life, said that she did not understand recent reports which suggested the former O.C. star was a 'nightmare' to work with.

"Working with Mischa was awesome! I really like her - she's a really sweet girl and she's really professional on set," Madekwe exclusively told Digital Spy.

"We had loads of fun because we played bitchy rivals, so it was always fun saying catty lines to each other."

She added: "I didn't hear any reports that she'd been acting up. She definitely wasn't - she was there on time every day and working hard like everybody else."

Discussing the axed series, she said that it was "a great idea" but suggested that "it wasn't executed as well as it could have been".

Madekwe currently stars in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, which airs Mondays at 10pm on Showtime in the US and Thursdays at 10pm on ITV2 in the UK.