Actress Johnson denies eating disorder rumours

Actress Kristen Johnson has slammed reports she is suffering from an eating disorder - blaming her skinny new frame on a burst stomach ulcer.

Gossip columns and internet bloggers went into overdrive earlier this month when the 40-year-old '3rd Rock From The Sun' star was spotted at an event in New York appearing to be alarmingly thin.

The statuesque star insists her drastic weight loss is the result of a nasty illness, and not an eating disorder.

"I realise I am too skinny now, and I'm not comfortable with it," she said.

"While I was doing a play ('Love Song') on London's West End, an ulcer I didn't know I had burst. I spent the next month and a half in the ward of a London hospital. I left there 40 pounds thinner than when I came in.

"It was a wake-up call and I knew I had to change everything... The combination of the ulcer, not drinking alcohol and my healthier eating habits melted the pounds away."