Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentIt’s official: ABC has announced Clayton Echard as the next star of “The Bachelor.”Echard, a suitor on the current season of “The Bachelorette” with Michelle Young, will lead Season 26 of the long-running dating show.Echard was first reported by Variety back in September to be the new “Bachelor” when photos of him filming with a camera crew were leaked by the press.At that time, sources close to the show told Variety that producers had fallen in love with Echard during Young’s season of “The Bachelorette,” and keenly had their eye on him to be the franchise’s next leading man, especially after his heart was broken on the show.Spoiler alert, but on last week’s “Bachelorette” episode, Echard was sent.
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