KIRSTIE ALLEY - ALLEY UNDERWENT STRICT WEIGHT CHECKS ON CHEERS

KIRSTIE ALLEY was subjected to relentless body scrutiny on the set of classic TV series CHEERS because bosses were obsessed with keeping her weight down.

The voluptuous star - who's resurrected her career and embraced her body issues in new show FAT ACTRESS - was often hauled before the producers of Cheers and VERONICA'S CLOSET to undergo strict weight checks during her stints on the TV programmes. Alley, 54, says, "When I was in Cheers, I was hauled in every now and again and warned about being too fat and I don't think I ever got over 135 pounds - and you have to remember that I'm five foot eight inches.

"On VERONICA's CLOSET, it was sort of weekly ritual. And, when I look back at those days, I wasn't really that fat."

And Alley admits when shooting began on upcoming series Fat Actress, she refused to believe she was as overweight as the media were claiming.

She adds, "When I got fat I was very confused because I thought that I looked good.

"Before we started shooting this show, I told the director, 'This is the most humiliating moment of my life. They might need to pad me because I'm really not that fat.'

"But, after I saw the first episode, I was like, 'Oh my God, I have the fattest bottom in the world. I had no idea I was that fat.' It was actually very cathartic for me."