Bitty Schram, wonderful as Sharona in the first seasons of Monk, returns to prime time as an art gallery owner in two episodes of the new FX crime drama Thief, airing April 4 and 11.

Schram has never spoken out about the real reason that she left Monk at the height of its popularity - that is, until now.  In the April 3-9 print edition of TV Guide, Bitty reveals that she didn’t want to leave Monk, but she suspected that she “was being paid less than many people who got raises,” and she couldn’t “work out a new contract.”  She went on to call Monk “the best experience of my career.”

We’re certain Schram wasn’t earning Screen Actors Guild minimum, but, nonetheless, a pay dispute is a better exit issue than the long-circulated rumor that Bitty walked because she wasn’t getting enough screen time.