She has offered the star a million-dollar television contract to revitalise her stalled career on the premise that Kirstie loses more than 20kg before she's back in front of the cameras.

Oprah was stunned when she recently saw pictures of the lonely star looking pale, dishevelled and overweight. But she was even more distressed to discover Kirstie's career had hit rock bottom.

Insiders say Oprah was so upset she called Tim Bennett, president of her Harpo Productions firm, and gave him a three-word mission: save Kirstie Alley.

Although the former Cheers star is 57 and 'over the hill' in Hollywood terms, Harpo has signed her to a very lucrative development deal. The contract includes a new sitcom for Kirstie as well as a talk show for her to host on the cable station the Oprah Winfrey Network.

'Oprah has more money than she knows what to do with, so she uses it to help her friends,' a Harpo insider says. 'Years ago she gave a $1 million [A$1.1 million] cheque to her best friend Gayle King. Now she's looking after her old friend Kirstie, who has become her pet project.

'They've been good friends for years and Oprah was really upset when she learnt Kirstie appeared to be battling depression and had lost her will to live. Oprah knows what it's like to feel lonely and depressed while fighting the flab, so she decided to change the downward spiral in Kirstie's life.'

The stars clearly share a very close bond. Kirstie even first opened up about her weight struggles on Oprah's show in 2004.
Kirstie's weight eventually ballooned to more than 91kg and she became the spokesperson for Jenny Craig. She vowed to lose 34kg, and when she did she again used the show to reveal her new body in 2006.

But soon after Kirstie's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Depressed, her problems grew when she was dumped by Jenny Craig after she put on the kilos yet again.

Kirstie, who's been celibate as she battles the bulge, was also devastated when her comedy Fat Actress was cancelled after seven episodes. She was to bounce back with Minister of Divine, but the show was shelved.

'With no incentive to stay slim and no boyfriend to spend time with, soon her weight was back to where she'd started,' the source says. 'Oprah understands, as she once went on her own show displaying her slim new figure, only to then gorge on junk food.

'Now Oprah's come to Kirstie's rescue. She doesn't expect her to get back into that bikini but she's ordered her to lose 20kg or the contract will be null and void.'

Kirstie's thankful to have a powerful pal like Oprah and has vowed to slim down. She's excited at the prospect of becoming a talk show host and believes her personal demons will make for a fascinating show.

'I'm very open with what I've been through in my life and nothing is off-limits to talk about,' Kirstie says. 'Also, I am a good comedian and, I won't lie, I've lived a good life. So I hope to offer something really fresh for the TV audience.'

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