• Associated Press via MercuryNews.com, Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:30 PM

Kirstie Alley and Jenny Craig may have broken up, but the star of "Fat Actress" may weigh in with her own entry in the diet category. "After lengthy negotiations, regretfully the Jenny Craig Company and I did not come to an agreement to continue as their spokesperson," says Alley. She adds, in a statement posted on People magazine's Website, that although her experience with Jenny Craig was "extraordinary," she wants "to create something new that will help millions of people end the seemingly never ending fatty-roller coaster ride."

She intends to develop her own weight-loss brand and is eyeing a 2009 launch. For its part, Jenny Craig's VP of marketing Scott Parker says the company is sorry Alley did not accept their last offer, but "wish her all the best in her future endeavors." Alley, who starred on Showtime's reality-comedy series "Fat Actress," became a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig diet program in 2005 and later put on a bikini to show off her new shape on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" after losing 75 pounds.

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