NEW YORK: On his first appearance on the soon-to-be-rechristened “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” Ryan Seacrest had something rare for someone who seems born to be on TV: butterflies.
Stepping on camera after Kelly Ripa broke the news of her new co-host last May 1, Seacrest was seized by an odd, intrusive notion: a desire “to just get invited back tomorrow.”
Ripa was jittery, too. She had been presiding over “Live” for — can it really be this long? — 16 years, first alongside founding host Regis Philbin, then, for a few years, Michael Strahan, then, the past year, paired with no fewer than 68 tryouts from whom Seacrest had been chosen.
“As the show began, it was such a secret,” recalls Ripa. “I was so nervous that I was going to blurt it out before he came out, and ruin everything.”
She did not, and he was back the next day, and the next. On Monday “Live with Kelly and Ryan” launches a new season — its 30th in national syndication — of goes-down-easy chat and interviews.
By now, the instant rapport the pair radiated four months ago is simply taken for granted by all concerned.
“I do not feel like there was a break-in period,” says Ripa, still seated beside Seacrest on the “Live” set after a recent broadcast. “I spent my first five years on the show terrified. He came to it, day one, ready. I feel so fortunate and thankful.”
Stepping on camera after Kelly Ripa broke the news of her new co-host last May 1, Seacrest was seized by an odd, intrusive notion: a desire “to just get invited back tomorrow.”
Ripa was jittery, too. She had been presiding over “Live” for — can it really be this long? — 16 years, first alongside founding host Regis Philbin, then, for a few years, Michael Strahan, then, the past year, paired with no fewer than 68 tryouts from whom Seacrest had been chosen.
“As the show began, it was such a secret,” recalls Ripa. “I was so nervous that I was going to blurt it out before he came out, and ruin everything.”
She did not, and he was back the next day, and the next. On Monday “Live with Kelly and Ryan” launches a new season — its 30th in national syndication — of goes-down-easy chat and interviews.
By now, the instant rapport the pair radiated four months ago is simply taken for granted by all concerned.
“I do not feel like there was a break-in period,” says Ripa, still seated beside Seacrest on the “Live” set after a recent broadcast. “I spent my first five years on the show terrified. He came to it, day one, ready. I feel so fortunate and thankful.”
