Ryan Seacrest plots surprise return to ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’

nypost.com:

his emotional pre-taped sendoff that aired on April 14.He announced his surprise departure in February. Seacrest first joined Ripa in 2017 and went on to host alongside her for six seasons.He made his swansong announcement live on air, explaining that he wanted to relocate to Los Angeles, which was something that he said played a big role in his decision. “This is something that [Kelly] and I have been talking about for a long time, and it was a tough, tough decision,” Seacrest stated. “Last year we spoke, and I made the decision to make this my last season as co-host.”However, Seacrest’s appearance on the show may be just the first of many.

When he left, he stated that he would be back as an occasional guest host, according to USA Today. During an interview with Variety shortly before his exit, he expressed how much he enjoyed being on the show and co-hosting with Ripa.“I was looking back at the six years and remembering when initially it was just going to be three,” he told the outlet at the time. “And then with each year that went by, I continued to extend my contract because I love sitting next to my partner and having this unique and casual connection to the people that watch.”In 2019, Ripa and Seacrest won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding entertainment talk show hosts.

Since Seacrest’s departure, Ripa’s husband has taken over the spot, with mixed reactions from some fans over the new dynamic.

However, Ripa and her husband, Consuelos, told People in an April interview that they were ready for anything that the show had to bring and were fearless to get into some real-life topics.