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Kelly Ripa Co-Host: ‘Live’ Star Narrows Search For Non-Celeb Hosting Contest

By Philip Trapp
Published on: 16:01 PST, Oct 16, 2016

Are you ready for a new Kelly Ripa co-host on Live with Kelly? The race has tightened and Ripa has now selected her top five finalists for the “Live with Kelly and You Co-Host Search Contest.” The upcoming week of Live shows, from Monday, October 17, through Friday, October 21, will see Ripa’s studio audience vote for the “Kelly and You” finalists as the top five progressively narrow down to an eventual winner, who will host Live with Kelly on Friday.

See the below list of the top five Kelly Ripa co-host finalists for the “Kelly and You” contest, as reported by Broadway World. All five “Kelly and You” finalists are scheduled to appear on Monday’s Live broadcast, when the voting begins to decide Ripa’s co-host winner. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the contest was first announced by Ripa after the Live with Kelly star teased a “big announcement” concerning her currently vacant co-host position. Ripa’s co-host chair has been empty since Michael Strahan left Live back in May.

• Comedian and mom Dena Blizzard from Moorestown, New Jersey
• Children’s theater director Jason Crespin from Amarillo, Texas
• High school teacher Richard Curtis from Perkasie, Pennsylvania
• Stay-at-home dad Dax Holt from Anaheim, California
• Actress and reporter Beth Keener from Atlanta, Georgia

As covered by NJ.com, one of the top five “Live with Kelly and You” contest finalists is former Miss New Jersey Dena Blizzard, who is now an aspiring stand-up comedian. Last week, Blizzard tweeted her elation in making it to the top five finalists of Kelly Ripa’s contest. NJ.com reports that three other New Jersey natives made Ripa’s top 20 in the contest, but were eventually eliminated as the “Kelly and You” contest selection wore on.

As reported by ABC 6 Action News in Philadelphia, another “Kelly and You” co-host contest finalist is from the Philadelphia area. Richard Curtis, an instructor at Souderton High School in Souderton, Pennsylvania, is reportedly a TV teacher. Befitting the nature of his television curriculum, Curtis held a brief “viewing party” for the students of his class on Friday morning to see his name among the “Kelly and You” co-host finalists.

Are you excited to see who will win Kelly Ripa’s co-host contest? Do you think Ripa’s contest winner will have a shot at becoming a permanent replacement for Michael Strahan? Perhaps the Live star will like the contest winner enough to offer them the full-time hosting gig. Ripa has had an especially long guest-hosting timeline since Michael Strahan left the show last spring. In the interim, Ripa has had celebrity guest co-hosts like Anderson Cooper, Fred Savage, Jerry O’Connell, and Keegan-Michael Key fill in.

Of course, Ms. Ripa is still on the hunt for a permanent co-host replacement for her Live with Kelly show. This week’s broadcast will bring another cavalcade of celebrity guest co-hosts to Live. Joining Ripa as co-host on Monday will be ABC weatherman Sam Champion. Actor Matt Bomer will be Kelly’s co-host on Tuesday, October 18.

Kelly Ripa’s co-host will be “Dance Like We’re Making Love” singer Ciara for the Live with Kelly show on Wednesday, October 19, and Summer of Sam star John Leguizamo will be Ripa’s co-host on Thursday, October 20. Friday, October 21, will see the “Live with Kelly and You” co-host winner strutting their stuff as Ripa’s special co-host guest.

Who do you think should win Ripa’s “Live with Kelly and You Co-Host Search Contest”? Did you submit a video entry to be considered for Ripa’s co-host contest? Are you still rooting for a certain celebrity co-host guest of Ripa’s to take up the mantle as her permanent Live with Kelly co-host? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Mark Davis/Getty Images]

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