Here’s Why Ryan Seacrest Was Missing From ‘Live!’ On September 17

Kelly Ripa flew solo on the Thursday, September 17, episode of Live! with Kelly and Ryan as her co-host Ryan Seacrest was absent. The American Idol host was forced to stay home as the ABC morning series revealed on Instagram that he was feeling a little under the weather.

The official account of Live! shared a behind-the-scenes look at Kelly preparing to walk to her chair to start the show. It confirmed in the caption that Ryan was staying at home as a precaution because he had “a sore throat.”

Though his illness didn’t seem too serious, he didn’t head into the studio because of the extra precautions put into place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

While some fans on Twitter questioned why Ryan was absent, others flooded the comments section of the Instagram post with get well messages as well as praise for his co-host for holding down the show by herself.

“Hope he feels better soon!” one person wrote.

“I hope he is ok! Kelly is so cool! But Gelman is a true genius the way he is dealing with all of this is phenomenal! Bravo,” another commented.

“Hope it’s just a sore throat. You can never be too cautious right now,” a third comment read.

“Doing great on your own Kelly!!” another person complimented.

Ryan’s absence meant there was a change to the set. Since they returned to the studio last week, the duo has sat on two smaller desks set far apart from one another in line with social distancing guidelines.

It used clever trickery to splice two shots together to make it appear that the co-hosts were sitting right next to one another.

The most recent episode saw Ryan’s desk removed with Kelly’s placed in the center of the floor in front of the iconic New York skyline backdrop.

She stunned in a calf-length patterned green dress with three-quarter sleeves and a belt around her waist to flaunt her slim middle. She had her signature blond hair slightly curled and enthusiastically walked over to her desk.

The former All My Children actress placed her hand on her heart with a big smile to open the show and later had a socially distanced chat with guest Bethenny Frankel.

The twosome’s much-anticipated return to their New York studio has been a big hit with fans. They previously filmed new episodes remotely from home for several months after production was initially shut down in March due to the virus.