Katherine Heigl has dropped out of the race for this year's Emmy Awards.

The 'Grey's Anatomy' star - who won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Drama Series for her role as Dr. Isobel Stevens in the medical drama last
year - insists she doesn't deserve the award because she wasn't given good
enough story lines.

She told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: "I did not feel that I was given
the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to
maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from
contention.

"In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an
actress who was given such materials."

Filming 'The Ugly Truth'

Meanwhile, a surprise candidate for an Emmy this year is Britney Spears, who
received rave reviews for her two cameo appearances on hit US TV show 'How I
Met Your Mother'.

The troubled singer - who played quirky receptionist Abby in the show -
has reportedly been included in the official ballot by the Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences.

The list, which is released to academy voters, is then cut down to the final
nominees for the September ceremony.

Nominees will be confirmed later this summer.