Brit: Having a Mother of a Good Time

The following italicized article is from www.eonline.com:

Britney Spears has taken a shine to sitcom work.

Making her first public statement on just about anything in recent days, the Blackout artiste announced Thursday that her week of toiling as a guest star on CBS' How I Met Your Mother beats psych wards and courtrooms.

"Working at How I Met Your Mother has been so terrific. Everyone, including the cast, the crew and the producers, has been wonderful, and Abby is such a fun girl to play. I'm having a blast!"
Meanwhile, the show's set of has been harder to crack than Hyde this week.

People couldn't approach the soundstage without the proper security clearance, which came in the form of a color-coded wristband, according to Neil Patrick Harris, who plays the suit-wearing, skirt-chasing Barney.

Harris told E! Online's Watch with Kristin Wednesday even he was denied at one point, although he ultimately made it past the guards, considering he's the castmember with the Emmy nomination and all.

"I did eventually make it on set, because I just kept going through," the actor said. "But there were lots of 'Hey, hey—I need to see your wristband,' and I said, 'Lady, I'm actually on the show, so I don't have a wristband.'

"So, that's the kind of excitement there is on Stage 22 right now, mid Britney."

Spears arrived at the Fox Studios set in a chauffeured black Cadillac Escalade at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday with her usual two bodyguards in tow.

Shortly before noon, Spears' car was dispatched back to her Beverly Hills home to pick up mom Lynne Spears, who had just returned to the gated Summit community after spending the morning visiting with her grandkids at Kevin Federline's house.

Lynne was spotted outside her daughter's trailer several times once she arrived at the studio (she had the right wristband, apparently), but reporters were hard-pressed to get another glance of Spears after her initial dropoff.

Harris—who more or less agreed with "quite impressed" costar Alyson Hannigan
that Spears was doing a "good job" in her bit role as Abby, a sweet-natured receptionist at a dermatologist's office (where Ted is finally going to get his "tramp stamp" removed)—said the only thing that concerned him about the pop star's very prominent presence was what the casting coup implied about the show's status.

"It wasn't like CBS or How I Met Your Mother is trying to get ratings and said, Who can we star-cast to get attention," Harris said. "We were literally just filming last week and told, 'You're not going to believe who just called and said they wanted to be on the show.'

"So, that's sort of how it all went down…My only reservation about her being on the show at all is it appears that we are desperate for ratings, and that's not the case. We're sort of in a good comedy groove. So, my only concern is one of appearance."

Asked how Barney would handle Spears if the two came face to face, Harris maintained his character's signature cockiness.

"He'd definitely trump Osama Lutfi," Harris concluded. "Barney would out-Adnan Adnan."

Hannigan, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for the scene-stealing Spears.

"I have been quite impressed by Britney’s performance," the erstwhile Buffy the Vampire Slayer witch told E! Online. "The character she is playing is very sweet and endearing, which seems to come naturally to her. Not to mention, she has good comedic timing, which helps, given we’re a sitcom.”

The onscreen dermatologist temporarily employing Spears as a receptionist is being played by Scrubs star Sarah Chalke, a last-minute replacement for Alicia Silverstone, who opted not to appear at the same time as Spears in order to avoid what she assumed would be a totally chaotic scenario.

Source: E! Online