It’s a far cry from her portrayal of a bar manager in hit US sitcom Cheers, but joining the priesthood could be just the ticket to put Kirstie Alley back in the limelight.
The 56-year-old is set to star in The Minister Of Divine - an American version of the hit British comedy The Vicar Of Dibley.
Kirstie, who hasn't appeared on the small screen since her 2005 comedy series Fat Actress, will play a minister with a few differences to her English counterpart - made famous by British comedian Dawn French.
The American actress' preacher will be returning to her hometown of Divine in Georgia, where she grew up as something of a rebel. "Kirstie's character is a woman with a past who's trying to make amends, and isn't afraid to call things as she sees them," says a spokesperson for Fox, the network which will be airing the show.
Screenplay writer Richard Curtis, who created The Vicar Of Dibley and is also responsible for penning Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill, will write and co-produce the re-make.
Fans of the British version were left disappointed when the series, which began in 1994, finally came to an end in the New Year with Dawn French's character Geraldine Granger marrying a newcomer to the Oxfordshire village of Dibley. But it's not quite the end of the charismatic vicar.
A further ten-minute episode is being filmed as part of next month's Comic Relief programming.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Former Cheers actress Kirstie has signed up to appear in a US remake of the hit British series The Vicar Of Dibley
Photo: © Getty Images
Photo: © Alphapress.com
She'll be following in the footsteps of Dawn French, the British comedian whose portrayal of love-lorn vicar Geraldine Granger has enchanted UK audiences for 12 years
Photo: © BBC
