Is Regis Philbin setting himself up to compete with his soon-to-be-ex-co-host, Kelly Ripa?
Sources tell Page Six the “Live with Regis & Kelly” legend, who announced in January that he’ll retire from the show in November, has begun shopping his own daytime syndicated talk show, starring himself.
Philbin has been in preliminary talks with syndicators, including Harpo and Sony, about hosting a talk show similar to “Live” but with more news coverage, insiders said.
Harpo denies there was any meeting with Philbin, and reps for Sony didn’t get back to us.
Philbin has been Ripa’s on-screen partner for a decade. When he announced he’d be leaving the show, he intimated that he had no plans for a continuing television career.
“Everything must come to an end for certain people on camera, especially certain old people,” he said at the time.
But sources told Parade magazine that Regis, spry at 79, made it clear that health concerns had nothing to do with his decision to leave — and that retirement from the show didn’t mean an end to his career.
With Philbin’s comeback plan yet to be revealed, Ripa has been starting to sweat, sources say. A source close to Ripa said she wouldn’t be happy about Regis’ return to daytime because his show would likely compete directly with her gabfest, which would have a new co-host. “Kelly is p- – -ed,” the source said bluntly.
It’s still early days for Philbin, who could likely meet with more syndicators as he works out a deal for life after “Live.” His agent declined to comment.
Ripa’s rep told us: “I don’t know. I know she’s very supportive of whatever Regis does, so I would doubt the story.”