LOCKLEAR STARS AT TRIAL; ACTRESS TAKES STAND IN `MELROSE' PREGNANCY CASE.

Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer

``Melrose Place'' star Heather Locklear woke up Monday, put on something black and tight-fitting and found herself the center of attention in a plot line worthy of a soap opera.

Only this time she wasn't acting. In a case with as many strange twists as a ``Melrose'' season, Locklear added little more than her presence to the trial of actress Hunter Tylo's pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against Aaron Spelling's companies.

But TV's sexiest landlord's 30-minute cameo on the witness stand was a definite scene-stealer in an already spectacle-filled proceeding.

Tylo was fired in 1996 before her ``Melrose'' career began, after producers found out she was pregnant. Locklear got pregnant almost exactly a year later but kept her job.

On the stand Monday, Locklear giggled and joked with Tylo's attorney, Nathan Goldberg, but never speculated why the men behind ``Melrose'' chose to use creative camera angles, body doubles and props to hide her bulging belly this season.

Goldberg led Locklear through her career - including roles on ``Dynasty'' and ``T.J. Hooker'' - before asking what she does to convey the image of a ``sexy seductress.''

``Bat my eyes, I suppose, and sometimes expose myself,'' she said.

``You couldn't expose yourself when (you were) pregnant, could you?'' Goldberg asked.

Locklear quipped: ``I could, but probably no one wanted to see it.''

The trial has included a revolving door of soap opera actress testimony and a closet full of maternity wear industry-defying outfits on Tylo, who constantly wears pumps to court even though she's almost eight months' pregnant.

If the jury says the producers were wrong to fire Tylo, her attorney Gloria Allred contends the decision could be used to protect other women in the workplace.

Tylo's attorneys claim a pregnant Locklear's presence on the show this season is proof that they could have kept Tylo on too.

But ``Melrose'' producers testified that Locklear - still labeled a ``special guest star'' even though she's been on almost every ``Melrose Place'' since the show started in 1992 - is the driving force behind the popularity of the show.

William Waldo, attorney for Spelling Entertainment Group, had predicted that Locklear's testimony would be a ``sideshow circus about nothing,'' and asked Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman to stop her from taking the stand.

Wasserman denied the motion Monday afternoon, allowing Goldberg to ask Locklear questions like ``has Amanda Woodward committed adultery yet?'' and ``did you select any clothing, for example, to enhance your bosom?'' in the presence of the jury.

With the courtroom packed and half a dozen spectators forced to stand, Locklear was the 73rd person to stroll into a room with a maximum occupancy of 71. After her testimony, the population of the room shrunk by 40.

By comparison, ``Melrose'' co-star Lisa Rinna's testimony last week had about 15 empty seats. And ``Bold and the Beautiful'' star Tylo's testimony had the vacant look of a Los Angeles Clippers basketball game.

``I hope she's always sexy,'' Locklear said, when asked if Woodward is still the vixen she was five years ago.

As if the scene inside the courtroom wasn't strange enough, Locklear had to walk by a small pack of orange-robed, sandal-wearing Buddhist monks - defendants in a trial across the hall - to get to and from court.

Heads turned but nobody bothered the actress, who was escorted down the hallway by two deputies.