(New York City)(by The Associated Press) Rosie O'Donnell is expected to make a surprise return to daytime television by taking over exiting Meredith Vieira's slot on the talk show The View.
O'Donnell's appointment was reported Thursday by the newsmagazine Extra. It was confirmed by a person close to the show who spoke on condition of anonymity because The View wanted to make the announcement on Friday's show.
ABC officials declined comment on the report Thursday.
Dubbed The Queen of Nice when her syndicated talk show went on the air in 1996 and became an instant hit, O'Donnell won six Daytime Emmy Awards in six years as best talk-show host. She left the show to help raise four children with her partner, Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell. It's an important appointment for The View, which was created by Barbara Walters. Vieira's news background helped make her the solid centre of the program on the days Walters didn't appear on air. But Vieira joined the game of musical anchor chairs that began when Katie Couric chose to move to the CBS Evening News. NBC quickly named Vieira as her replacement on the Today show, where she will begin work in September.
Joy Behar and Star Jones Reynolds, who have been bickering at each other lately, are also members of The View roundtable, along with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. They're nominated together in the best talk-show host category at Friday's Daytime Emmy Awards. "I think every agent in America is calling," Walters said shortly after Vieira's departure was announced April 6. O'Donnell has acted in a variety of movie, TV and stage shows, including the films A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle and Grease on Broadway. She should have no problem holding her own with the other ladies on The View. Since leaving daytime television, O'Donnell has become a strong advocate of gay and lesbian marriage and adoption. With her partner, she operates a cruise line for gay and lesbian families that was recently featured in an HBO movie.
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