CHICAGO — An embarrassed Oprah Winfrey says she's "fallen off the wagon" of healthy living and has ballooned to 200 pounds.

In January's O magazine, Winfrey, 54, details her recent struggles with an out-of-balance thyroid and how the condition made her develop "a fear of working out." She says she's gained 40 pounds since 2006, when she weighed 160.

"I look at my thinner self and think, 'How did I let this happen again?' " the talk-show queen says in the article.

"I'm embarrassed," she says. "I'm mad at myself."

Winfrey is expected to talk about her weight on her Best Life Week, starting Jan. 5, on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

WILLIE K, HELM FOR CHRISTMAS

Listen up, Windward and North Shore residents. Christmas music is heading your way, when Willie K and Raiatea Helm headline "A Musical Christmas Gift" concert from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday in the Kuilima Ballroom of the Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku.

The benefit for three organizations is being underwritten by developer Stanford Carr, interim management officer for Kuilima Resort Co., which owns Turtle Bay. "These are tough times," Carr said in a statement. "... (We) wanted to do something to lift spirits and remind us why we celebrate this special time of the year."

Tickets are $15 advance, $20 at the door — and the proceeds will help the Kahuku High School athletic department, the Ko'olau Children's Choir and Na Kamalei Early Childhood Education. Information: 293-6000.

— Wayne Harada, Advertiser entertainment writer

HUDSON GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS

NEW YORK — Jennifer Hudson is going back to work.

The singer will begin filming a video next week for her single "If This Isn't Love." The L.A. filming had been postponed after her mother, brother and nephew were slain in October.

'GRAY'S ANATOMY' LOSING GEORGE

NEW YORK — An inside source has confirmed that T.R. Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley, has asked to be released from the remaining three years of his "Grey's Anatomy" contract and that the network has indicated it will agree. Knight is unhappy with his storyline on the ABC drama, the insider said.