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Kelly Ripa's First LIVE Guest Host Has Been Revealed...
Find out which late-night host will join Kelly after Michael Strahan exits.
And so it begins. After Michael Strahan officially leaves his co-hosting post at LIVE on May 13, Jimmy Kimmel has been recruited to sit by Kelly Ripa's side. At least for the May 16 episode. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC announced that the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host has been recruited as the first guest host to fill in on the morning talk show.
Jimmy Kimmel will fill in on LIVE on May 16, which may explain why he looks so excited in the above photo.
Earlier this week, Michael (who will transition to a full-time gig at Good Morning America) opened up about all the hype his exit has been received with. "I think the more I talk about it the more it becomes a news story and I don't understand why, neither one of us understands why. But it is what it is," he told Entertainment Tonight, adding that "I'm looking forward to [moving to Good Morning America full time], but I'm still looking forward to going to work for Live... I love being there. I still love it. It's a great show, great people, and I'm very fortunate to be a part of it."
So, for now, fans will have to wait and see who will be officially named Michael's successor. Auditions for a new co-host will begin at some point following his exit. Last week, Anderson Cooper weighed in on whether he'd ever consider taking the job. "Listen, I love Kelly and I think that show is, Kelly is the heart and soul of that show and it’s going to go on and continue to be great and I wish Michael the best in his new endeavor," he said, without actually saying if he'd take the job if it was ever offered to him (clip below). "Look, I’m very happy at CNN. Um, you know, it would be a dream to work with Kelly but nobody’s offering anything."
