One of the most shocking revelations about Calista Flockhart in her recent exclusive interview in the must-read People magazine, was the comment from an ex-boyfriend, that she has 'always been 102 pounds'.
When she appeared at the recent Emmy awards, for which Ally McBeal (World, 8.30pm) had been nominated for everything, the paparazzi managed to get a snap of her in a Richard Tyler sheath dress, in which her shoulder blades could be seen very prominently. 'Anorexia!' screamed the gossip columnists, and in October an American television report stated that Flockhart had checked into a clinic for eating disorders.
This has all been denied to death, hence the interview with People magazine: 'Am I anorexic? I guess my answer would be no.' Does she acknowledge she is a bit on the scrawny side sometimes? 'I don't look in the mirror often, but when I do, I have to say, no, I don't think of myself as too thin.' The poor woman has been blamed for encouraging teenage girls to starve themselves, and had a Californian radio station threaten to send her truckloads of Twinkies, and all because she only weighs 102 pounds.
There are some of us who dream of being a nice comfy 102 pounds, for whom weight gain genuinely is a problem. It could be that Flockhart really isn't very well. There could also be something in her theory that a busy 14 hour a day filming schedule, and a decision to cut back on junk food like pizza and burgers, and a lack of muscle firming exercise, has caused the shrinkage. Not all skinny women are that way because they have a problem.
Tonight Flockhart takes second place to her co-star, Courtney Thorne-Smith, who plays Georgia. Georgia seems to be the woman on the show men actually dream of, even though they are entertained by poor Ally. Ally's dancing baby has been missing for the last few weeks, but we can speculate that he might be about to make a reappearance because today, Ally sees a home-pregnancy kit in Georgia's things. Billy married has been bad enough, Billy as Daddy is likely to have spectacular implications for Ally.
Thorne-Smith was famous long before Flockhart as one of the stars in the prime time soap, Melrose Place where she played Alison Parker, up until David Kelley decided she was the perfect wife and tempted her away to a show which has done rather more justice to her acting skills.
