Talk show host Regis Philbin and new co-host Kelly Ripa speak to the audience during a broadcast of “Live with Regis and Kelly,” February 5, 2001, in New York City. Ripa, known for her role on ABC’s soap opera “All My Children,” replaces Kathie Lee Gifford, who left the show in July 2000.
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After Kathie Lee Gifford departed the show, Ripa co-hosted a few episodes as a special guest star. After her third time as a guest co-host and countless comments telling her that the show was not looking for a second, permanent host, Ripa was finally made an offer–but it came with a warning: “They want you to know who your boss is.”
“It was very ominous, and it did not feel good,” she told the outlet.
Ripa eventually joined the production full-time in 2001, and after Philbin retired in 2011, she later took it over with Ryan Seacrest .
But first impressions are everything, and the show certainly left a tricky one on Ripa.
She later told interviewers that her agent also mentioned that the show didn’t want her “bringing an entourage,” so, on her first day on set as a permanent co-host, she only brought two people.
“I came with hair and makeup,” she recalled. “It was not an unusual thing for people on a television show to show up with.”
But before she walked on stage, Philbin greeted her and the show’s executive producer, Michael Gelman , with: “Uh-oh, Gelman, it’s got an entourage.”
“I felt horrible,” she admitted. “He was probably trying to be funny, but at the same time, it felt like a pile-on. I understand that probably he didn’t want a co-host, but the network wanted me to be the co-host and I didn’t think I should pass up that opportunity. I don’t think it was fair to him. But it was also not fair to me.”
Ripa also admitted that despite their rocky start as coworkers, she enjoyed spending time with Philbin outside the studio.
“Off camera and outside of that building, it was a different thing,” she revealed. “The handful of times we spent together, I so enjoyed. We went to the same resort once on vacation, and he came to a dinner I hosted—one of the favorite nights of my life. I never laughed so hard.”
Ripa held no hard feelings over their past; she credited him with teaching her everything she knows about the business and still considers Philbin “the world’s best storyteller.”
“If I could become a tenth as good, I’d be happy,” she admitted. “It’s taking the audience on a ride with you and remembering that you are always the butt of the joke.”
She noted: “I loved him, and I still do.”
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