Britney heads to Will and Grace

Pop star/paparazzi magnet Britney Spears will join the long list of high-profile guest stars on NBC's ``Will & Grace'' later this season. Spears will play a new, conservative Christian sidekick on Jack's (Sean Hayes) talk show in an episode scheduled for April. Spears and the cast are set to tape the episode in February. NBC is billing the platinum-selling singer's guest spot as her ``first prime-time television episodic appearance,'' though that's not exactly true. She appeared as herself in an episode of ``Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' in 1999 — and, of course, was the star of last summer's unscripted UPN show ``Britney & Kevin: Chaotic.'' As far as we can tell, though, the ``Will & Grace'' episode will be the first time Spears plays someone other than herself in primetime. In the episode, the gay-centric TV network Jack works for, Out TV, is bought by a Christian broadcaster, and Spears' character is brought onto Jack's show to provide the religious point of view. Jack then recruits Will (Eric McCormack) to help his new co-host relax a bit. By appearing on ``Will & Grace,'' Spears will add her name to a roster of guest stars that's included fellow pop icons Cher and Madonna, Oscar winners Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, and many others. The show is in its last season on NBC, with the finale scheduled for May 18. [ Zap2it.com ]