There has been endless speculation over the cause of Ashlee Simpson’s departure on the new Melrose Place and while publicly those involved with the show have been saying that it was planned for Ashlee to leave early all along, many are assuming that there’s more to the story. An insider on the set told Star Magazine that there is, in fact, more to Ashlee’s departure than is being said and it apparently has to do with the arrival of another diva: OG Melrose Place star Heather Locklear.

The two are said to have butted heads on set many times. Ashlee was caught whispering things about Heather’s age to others and Heather was fed up with Ashlee’s lack of talent and wannabe diva attitude. The producers, knowing that Heather was bound to bring some new eyes to the show and boost ratings, made the executive decision to cut Ashlee and her co-star Colin Egglesfield in order to keep Heather around.

While I can see Ashlee’s diva schtick being both obnoxious and unwarranted, I do have to say that I think Heather has to have a pretty high opinion of herself if she thinks she can get employed anywhere other than the Melrose Place set. Let’s face it: After her last few years in the headlines, she’s not exactly A-list and I can’t think of the last time that she did anything reasonable. Plus, this quote from the set insider, “Heather was jealous of Ashlee immediately. She knew Ashlee was one of the bigger names on set, and she wanted her gone so she could make it her show. Heather is very political and calculating…”, not only makes Heather sound like a bully, but it seems kind of pathetic.

Either way, I can’t imagine that this show is going to be around long enough for it to make a huge impact on either actresses career.

It’s official:  The bitch is back.  Heather Locklear is returning to the saddest little neighborhood around, Melrose Place, to see if she can yet again save this sinking ship.

The first time MP was on the air there was no plot line,  it had horrible actors and was at the bottom of the ratings — wow, this new version really is a remake in the truest sense.  Heather Locklear came on board and saved the show; it ran for seven years.  Now, she’s coming back.

I’m sure after that nuclear disaster of a premiere, the producers knew that only Amanda Woodward could save the day.  Here are my questions:  Will Amanda’s glorified belts — the wardrobe people called them “skirts”, but I debate that classification — be as short as they were in the ’90s?  Will this show make it to the end of season 1?  And, just how much money do you think they had to throw at Heather Locklear to get her back on this show?

Public appearances by Heather Locklear have been exceedingly rare since she was arrested on DUI last year, but she showed up at with her boyfriend, James Wagner, to the opening of Reality Check in LA yesterday, hosted by Carole Bayer Sager And Mergie Perenchio.

I swear, this woman does not age! For all she’s been through, she still look about 28 years old. STUNNING!

The infamous DUI-er gets out of the car holding a copy of Get Out of My Life for the paps to see.

Cute.

It took awhile, but prosecutors in Santa Barbara have charged Heather “Prettiest Mug Shot Ever” Locklear with misdemeanor driving under the influence, citing prescription drugs.

Her attorney had no comment.

Heather has been flying under the radar since her traffic stop in September led to her arrest.

This shit is bananas!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

So now we’re hearing reports that the chick who made the 911 call to police about Heather Locklear driving drunk was none other than Jill Ishkanian, that chick who got fired from Us Weekly and then hacked into their computer system. After calling in the tip, Jill tipped off her paparazzi buddies, who got the shots of Heather’s arrest and sold them to TMZ for $27,000.

This is soooo fucked up.

And probably not illegal, either, unless someone can prove that Heather was definitely not driving erratically. Says Jill’s lawyer: “The fact she witnessed Ms. Locklear’s erratic driving and reported it to the police did not mean she was disqualified from reporting the story, which she in fact did.” And, ya know, he’s right. There’s nothing illegal about this, sadly, if Heather was, in fact, behaving like a drunk driver.

However, another witness near the scene denies that Heather seemed drunk.

“She seemed to be acting normal, totally normal. She was just really messy, but not drunk,” says Santa Barbara resident Alex Paillon, who spotted Locklear in a shopping center moments before her arrest.

“I was really surprised to hear she got a DUI because, I mean, I just saw her coming out of the store,” Paillon continues. “She looked fine.”

And how does Harvey Levin over at TMZ feel about the fact that these photos are soooo dirty? (Although, in fairness, he didn’t know the whole set-up when he paid for them.) “Ultimately, these are photographs of an arrest,” he said.

The D.A. is still determining whether or not to file charges.

Because, I mean, whether or not the police tip-off was set-up, the police still decided to go ahead and put her under arrest, so she must have been exhibiting some signs of impairment, although it’s been determined alcohol was not involved. If she’d been totally sober and sane, they would have let her go. The police don’t go ahead and arrest every single person they come into contact with on the road.

While the CHP said there was no sign Locklear, 47, had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol, a “drug recognition expert” told officers she appeared under the influence of an unspecified drug. She was tested and prosecutors are awaiting the results.

“Toxicology is one piece of information that I want to have in hand before I review the case,” explains the D.A.. “Obviously, I want as much information as I can get before I can review the case for any filing, if there is going to be a filing.”

This is going to be very, very interesting to watch play out. I am certain some fucked up shit went down either way.

As the world speculates about her DUI last week, Heather Locklear solemnly meets with her real estate agent in LA on Tuesday.

Are you going to issue a statement, Heather? An apology? An explanation? Anything?