Pop princess Britney Spears' former husband, Kevin Federline, was rushed to the hospital yesterday after collapsing on the set of new Channel 9 reality show "Excess Baggage."

The 33-year-old former dancer became distressed after completing a skills drill with the Greater Western Sydney AFL team complaining of chest pains and a racing pulse. On-set, paramedics treated him for a suspected "minor cardiac arrest" before he was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Tests cleared him of a heart attack but he was kept under observation. Federline, who came to fame for marrying pop princess Spears in 2004, was expected to be released from hospital last night.

Host Kate Ceberano said Federline had recently tried to quit booze in his battle against the bulge and hinted his body may have simply become unable to cope with the strain of change.

"I'm very concerned about his current condition," she said.

"There are things in all the contestants that they want to conquer. I know he has been giving up drinking and doing a variety of different things to help his nutrition and his health and sometimes when you change things too suddenly it can happen," Ceberano added.

Ceberano described Federline as the "underdog" of the competition.

"He's very quiet, very gentle. He's a really lo-fi guy," she said.

It is the second time this series that the US star has been taken to hospital. He was treated for "heat stress" during a challenge in West Australia's Kimberley region.

Federline, who shares custody of two boys with Spears, weighed into the competition nine weeks ago at 105 kg and said that he wanted to become fit, healthy and buff once more.

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