NEW YORK — Dunwoody native Ryan Seacrest announced he is leaving “Live with Kelly and Ryan” daytime talk show at the end of the current season.
Seacrest made his special announcement on Thursday’s episode that aired on Channel 2. He joined the show as Kelly Ripa’s co-host back in 2017. Ripa’s husband Mark Consuelos will take over Seacrest’s co-hosting duties.
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“I’m going to miss my work wife and all the laughter we share,” Seacrest wrote on Instagram. “When I signed on to host ‘Live’ in 2017 it was meant to be for three years, but I loved the job and working with Kelly so much that I extended my time and last year I made the decision to stay on for one more final season.”
“I’m so grateful to have spent the last six years beside my dear friend of too many decades to count and will miss starting my days with Ryan,” said Ripa in a statement. “Ryan’s energy, passion and love for entertainment is one-of-a-kind.”
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Seacrest grew up in Dunwoody and watched Channel 2 Action News as a kid. In an interview with Atlanta Magazine in 2003, Seacrest said Channel 2′s John Pruitt was his idol and that he wanted to be in TV or radio someday.
Seacrest graduated from Dunwoody High School in 1992. He studied journalism at the University of Georgia before he left to start his career in the entertainment industry. He returned to UGA in 2016 to give advice to alumni and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Seacrest will host the upcoming 21st of “American Idol” on Channel 2 this spring.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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