KIRSTIE ALLEY is so desperate for a comeback that she's begging longtime pal VALERIE BERTINELLI for a role on her hit TV Land series "Hot in Cleveland."
At 61, the "Cheers" Emmy winner hoped to resurrect her career after her appearance on "Dancing with the Stars" and 100-pound weight loss, sources say. But ABC rejected her sitcom pilot "The Manzanis," and her only upcoming project is the memoir "the Art of Men."
"Kirstie really thought she'd be offered a hit TV series and tons of other projects by now," said a pal. "But her comeback is fizzling fast. she was certain 'The Manzanis' was a shoo-in for a long run, and now she's frightened that there's nothing big on her horizon except the book she's writing about the men in her life."
As the ENQUIRER reported, the "Fat Actress" butted heads with her old "Cheers" buddy RHEA PERLMAN on "The Manzanis" set while filming the pilot.
After ABC deep-sixed the show, Kirstie tweeted from Italy that she was sad it didn't get picked up and lightheartedly joked: "While I'm over here slitting my throat with a butter knife…" But the pal maintained Kirstie was devastated and reached out to her former Jenny Craig co-spokeswoman Valerie to ask about joining "Hot in Cleveland," which also stars JANE LEEVES, WENDIE MALICK and BETTY WHITE.
In an earlier Twitter message, Kirstie told Valerie that she's addicted to the show and proposed playing the long-lost sister of one of the characters.
"Kirstie wasn't kidding," said the source.
She wants to be back on a TV comedy in the worst way, and her only hope at the moment is a helping hand from Valerie.
"Kirstie always sounds up and inspirational in public, but she's deeply worried that her days as an in-demand TV comedy star are over."
