Ally McBeal star back on screens

Calista Flockhart's Ally McBeal was a big hit in the late 1990s

Former Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart is to return to US prime time TV with a part in a family soap opera.

Flockhart, 41, will star alongside Six Feet Under actress Rachel Griffiths in ABC's Brothers and Sisters when it hits TV screens later this year.

Flockhart will play a radio show host in the drama about four adult siblings.

Flockhart played neurotic lawyer Ally McBeal in the popular TV series, which ran from 1997 to 2002 and won four Golden Globe awards.