UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — In sort of the ultimate example of turning lemons into lemonade, Kirstie Alley has turned the tables on supermarket tabloids and gotten her own show.

The former star of "Cheers," "Veronica's Closet" and the "Look Who's Talking" movies has, well, gained quite a bit of weight in recent years. And, in recent months, her appearance has become fodder for the tabloids, complete with unflattering photos and alarming headlines.

"I never went — 'I'm under attack! . . . I need to lose weight!' " Alley said. "I went — 'I'm under attack! . . . I'm going to call (Showtime executive) Bob Greenblatt because this is a good show!' "

Indeed, she's starring in "Fat Actress," playing a fictionalized version of herself in a semiscripted comedy that premieres on Showtime in March. Kirstie stars as Kirstie, an overweight actress fighting to find work and fighting to lose weight.

And Alley's not worried that "Fat Actress" is going to make her a bigger target. "I couldn't have been attacked any more than I was being attacked. I was under siege 24/7. So it has actually been very liberating to just decide there's got to be humor in this. I'm not the only person in the world who's gotten fat."

Bryan Callen, who co-stars in "Fat Actress," recalled shooting a scene in front of a newsstand where he saw Alley's picture on the cover of a tabloid. And, as he started looking around, he saw "paparazzi everywhere, hiding in the trees. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen."

And, as you might imagine, it's not a particularly pleasant way to live. "I consider me getting fat like an error — this error in judgement, you know? . . . But I think when you see it in front of your face all the time — and maliciously; come on, the intent is malicious. It's not, like 'Hey, here's fat Kirstie Alley. We think this will be very helpful for her and her career and her family and we think it's great for her.'

"Because you know it's malicious, you think, 'Well, I either hit this head-on or I become the (victim) of this. And I just went . . . 'I can play this game better than they can.' "

Alley doesn't offer any big excuses for her weight gain. She took some time off from show business to stay home with her kids, cooked a lot, entertained a lot and ate a lot. And it just sort of crept up on her. "I have to tell you that this is the dumbest I've ever been in my life," she said, explaining that she didn't even realize it was happening.

"When I was doing 'Cheers,' I was hauled in several times for being too fat. Now, if you'll look back on 'Cheers,' I don't think I ever got over 135 pounds. And I'm 5-8. On 'Veronica's Closet,' it was sort of a weekly ritual. When I look back at that, I go, 'I wasn't fat.' Then when I really got fat, I was so confused by then, I thought — I look good!"

When she was developing the show with executive producer Brenda Hampton ("7th Heaven"), she even said, "They might need to pad because I'm really not that fat."

"But after I saw that first episode, I was like — oh my (gosh)! I have the fattest (butt) in the world! I had no idea I was that fat. So this was cathartic for me. . . . When we announced this show, It was so liberating. It was, like, bring it on!"

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com