Kelly Ripa to Announce New Co-Host September 4!

USMagazine, Monday, August 20, 2012, 12:45pm (PDT)

Announcing Live! With Kelly and…

Much to the delight of Live! fans everywhere, the wait to see who will replace longtime Live! With Regis and Kelly host Regis Philbin will come to end this fall.

On Monday, ABC confirmed that the much-anticipated reveal of Kelly Ripa's new co-host will happen on Tuesday, September 4 -- the day after Labor Day Weekend and the new season's kickoff.

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Actress Claire Danes and American Idol winner Phillip Phillips are scheduled to appear as guests while also being on hand to fete the new co-host.

Since Philbin, 80, departed from the show in November 2011, Josh Groban, 31, Jerry O'Connell, 38, Nick Lachey, 38, Seth Meyers, 38, and even Ripa's hubby, Mark Consuelos, 41, have widely been considered contenders for the gig.

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While staying mum about the others, Ripa, 41, did shoot down rumors that Consuelos, who has shared hosting duties with her before, would become a fixture at her daytime job. "No one would make me happier than Mark, but he values our marriage," the bubbly blonde said in the June issue of Vanity Fair. "He says that he doesn't see how we could stay married and both do that show."

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But that doesn't mean that Ripa doesn't have her list of dream co-hosts. Earlier this month, she told Us Weekly that Anderson Cooper, 45, would be a great fit for the vacant spot.

"We have a connection like nobody else," she told Us. "I worship him!"

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Kelly Ripa to Announce New Co-Host September 4!