People: Courteney starts clean with ‘Dirt’

In the opening of Courteney Cox‘s new television series, she’s seen as a red, satin-swathed colossus dominating the Hollywood landscape.

In fact, Cox’s Lucy Spiller is wallowing in the gutter as the editor of tabloid magazines whose mission is reflected in the show’s title: “Dirt.”

Turns out Lucy has company: Some of the stars and executives who publicly scorn her also use her. She rubs that in a producer’s face in tonight’s debut episode (10 p.m., FX).

“You and all your Hollywood pals read my magazines and secretly love them,” she purrs. “And as much as you all hate to admit it, you need me.”

“Dirt” allows Cox, 42, to effectively vanquish her “Friends” character of Monica – which made her one of America’s sitcom sweethearts – and slither into the driven Lucy, who struggles with her own unstable psyche.

She’s not just going along for the ride. “Dirt” is from the production company she runs with her husband, David Arquette, 35. They’re also two of the four executive producers.

“It all stemmed from when I was pregnant,” Cox says. “The paparazzi was really hounding me … and some really crazy stuff happened. They got in my face more than anything I experienced before.”

The much-hyped end of “Friends” in 2004 added to the madness, which Cox said included car chases in which she was surrounded by photographers and feeling especially vulnerable because she was expecting (daughter Coco is now 2 1/2 ).

“The head of development at our company saw what I was going through … and had the foresight to know it would make an interesting show,” she says.

It was a project she intended only to produce. Then FX Networks President John Landgraf suggested reworking the concept to include a woman editor.

“I called Landgraf and said, ‘I love this. I want to be in this,’ ” Cox says. “It’s the easiest job I’ve ever gotten.”

Does Cox find it difficult to approach the tabloid world with any degree of understanding, if not sympathy?

“I feel like there’s two sides to everything,” she said. “Also, it’s television. You love to hate characters – that’s always a fun thing – but you also have to have something you can hold on to, to be able to relate to them.”

Do actors acknowledge that such publications are part of the publicity machine?

“Well, I accept it,” says Cox.

But it’s tougher on other celebrities, she adds – such as former “Friends” co-star Jennifer Aniston, whose romances (Brad Pitt, Vince Vaughn) became tabloid obsessions.

“Jennifer is hounded every single day, poor girl. She’s coping with it but she cannot get a break,” Cox says.

“As far as David and I, there’s nothing that dramatic that’s happening, unless I get pregnant again. I get followed, get my picture taken and maybe I’ll be in a tabloid saying, ‘She didn’t wear that (outfit) well. She looked terrible.’ I don’t really care.”

The birthday bunch

Actress Wendy Phillips is 55. Actress Gabrielle Carteris (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) is 46. Actress Tia Carrere is 40. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 39. Model Christy Turlington is 38. Actor Taye Diggs is 36. Actress Kate Bosworth is 24.