Calista Flockhart Collapses

Dec. 18 -- The set of Ally McBeal doesn’t sound like the safest place to be lately. Underweight Ally star Calista Flockhart, 36, passed out on Wednesday on the series’ set in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors treated her for dehydration and exhaustion, spokeswoman Melissa Kates told Reuters on Friday.

Flockhart was “treated intravenously” during a six-hour stay in a Los Angeles-area hospital and was discharged later in the day, Kates said. After going home to recuperate she returned to the set Friday, the publicist added. “She’s fine now. She’s back at work,” Kates said.

Asked about the circumstances leading to Flockhart’s collapse, Kates said the show’s cast and creative team have been under added strain since Robert Downey Jr.’s Nov. 25 arrest, which has left his role on the show in doubt. “It’s just been a tough month,” Kates said. “I think it’s been a stressful and emotional time on the set because everybody is concerned about Robert.” A just-out-of-jail Downey agreed to film the 10-episode role as the latest love interest for Ally and their on-screen chemistry has been widely credited with helping to boost interest in the show following a season of lackluster ratings. Flockhart’s fainting spell occurred during the taping of this season’s 12th episode, the last that Downey has signed to appear in, a source close to the show told Reuters. That segment is due to air Feb. 5. Downey is currently free on bail, and is due back in court on Dec. 27. The Ally star’s collapse follows ongoing inquiry into the health of the oh-so-thin actress, but she’s not the only one on the show to have suffered the scrutiny of the media. In February, an undisclosed health ailment had Ally regular Lisa Nicole Carson in the hospital, and former regular Courtney Thorne-Smith told Us Weekly that she left the show from the constant stress of having to stay TV-thin for the series.