Eccles-born Cutting It and True Dare Kiss writer Debbie Horsfield is the woman responsible for adapting this particular story with a theme about the urge to consume and outshine.
"This fairytale struck me as particularly relevant for today's celebrity and designer-obsessed society," explains Debbie. One of the earliest versions of The Emperor's New Clothes features a painter of invisible pictures, rather than a weaver, who claimed only persons of noble birth could see his work.
In the medieval Arabic version, a king parades naked, convinced he's wearing clothes only visible to men who are the flesh and blood sons of their fathers.
Just as the emperor defined himself through his fine clothes, soap actress Michaela is a slave to fashion and determined to outshine her co-star and arch rival Shekeelia (Koel Purie) at the Silver Sphere Awards, the highlight of the soap calendar.
The comedy drama also features a young couple who have moved from their idyllic country home to a new town, changing their lives in ways they never imagined.
Shannon, played by Life On Mars star Liz White, has been busy raising the couple's two children and has started to feel frustrated with her life. Stuck at home, she escapes via Empire State and her favourite character, ruthless businesswoman Meredith McQueen.
With husband Jake (Kenny Doughty) the new chef at the local fashionable restaurant, she is stunned to discover that her idol Michaela, who plays Meredith, is a regular there.
Despite the fawning team surrounding the TV star, Shannon and Michaela strike up an unlikely friendship. So, when Shannon spots Shekeelia sneaking into a designer clothes store ahead of the red carpet fashion battle at the awards, she tells Michaela and her entourage.
New designers
A plan is then formed to win an exclusive deal with the new designers for "the dress". Nobody realises that the "designers" are fakes who are selling market stall items as designer one-offs. Will any of the fashionistas notice the difference?
"It's the story of a naïve young mother who arrives in the big city, is befriended by a celebrity and is immediately swept away by the apparent glamour and excitement of her lifestyle," says Debbie. "I talked to people who'd been publicists on various soaps, I combed the glossy magazines. I talked to friends in the fashion industry and the PR industry. I talked to everyone about whether they bought designer clothes and why. I knew a bit about the world of award ceremonies, having been to a few myself.
"I'd had personal experience of being a naïve newcomer in a big city, so didn't need to research that. Likewise, I knew what it felt like to be a new mother with small children, feeling distinctly out of things."
Executive producer Mark Redhead believes the series of four different films is relevant to a 2008 audience. "Fairy stories express the deepest human fears, feelings, dreams and urges which pulse beneath the surface of the modern world just as they did thousands of years ago. What's great about adapting a fairy story is that while the basic structure is there, there's often not much in the way of detailed plot, so the writers have enormous scope to introduce new material.
"One of the pleasures of the series is the way in which our versions follow, diverge from and have fun with the audience's expectations of stories which they think are familiar."
Tonight's adaptation follows on from Rapunzel and Cinderella, with Billy Goat, updated by The League of Gentlemen writer Jeremy Dyson, completing the tales next week.
It stars Bolton-born Paul Nicholls as Connor Gruff, the lead singer in boy band Billy Goat, married to childhood sweetheart Carol (Sarah Smart) with three children. But Connor dreams of more than playing to packed out clubs in his home town.
For all the latest news from the world of television, check out Ian Wylie's blog, The Life of Wylie . Tweet
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