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Kelly Ripa Brings Back Former Co-Host as Special ‘Live’ Guest

Anderson Cooper is no stranger to co-hosting Live with Kelly and Ryan. So, when we heard he was going to be on Wednesday’s episode of the hit morning show, we immediately expected to see Cooper filling in as co-host for Ryan Seacrest. However, after watching the first few minutes of the episode (and seeing the behind-the-scenes clips on IG), we quickly realized that the TV personality appeared today as a “special guest,” rather than a guest host.

For the new installment, Ripa and Seacrest were joined by Cooper and actor Dulé Hill. The group also attempted to break the record for the tallest toilet paper tower in 30 seconds for “Live’s Record Breaker Week.” (Spoiler alert: The attempt was unsuccessful.)

The episode marked one of the first times we’ve seen Cooper visit the set as a guest. In fact, last season the CNN correspondent sat in as host for the American Idol alum alongside Ripa twice in a row.

For the episodes, which aired back in February, producers shared videos of Ripa and Cooper preparing to film the installments. In one of the clips, the duo completed the daily walk from the dressing rooms to the stage and discussed their unintentional matching ensembles and even took a moment to chat with Dan the coffee man. “We’re live now with guest cohost @andersoncooper!” the caption read.

Great to have you back on set, Anderson, no matter what the reason.

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