Oprah is coming to the rescue of former fat girl Kirstie Alley. The Queen of Talk has inked a multimillion dollar development deal with the ousted Jenny Craig spokesmodel through her Harpo Studio production company. Kirstie’s contract includes her own hour-long Oprah-produced talk show, and the possibility of her own sitcom on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

“I’m very open with what I’ve been through in my own life. Nothing shocks me. I hope to offer something totally fresh for the TV audience,” Kirstie says.

“It’s nice to have rich, powerful and loyal friends like Oprah,” TV analyst Stewart Eller says. “Unemployed Kirstie’s career is basically in the toliet, and Oprah is taking a big financial gamble to put Kirstie back in the big time.”

Eller’s interested in how Kirstie’s very public devotion to Scientology will play into her daytime show:

“As a devout Scientologist, she’ll be able to use her connections with the church to line up a string of celebrity members as guests, including Priscilla Presley, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Kelly Preston. So the talk show could be very interesting.”

Harpo president Tim Bennett called the fifty-seven year old former Cheers star a “fan favorite” and expressed excitement over the new Alley/Oprah partnership:

“We’re looking forward to working together to bring viewers everywhere her distinctive voice and comedic flair.”