Kelly Ripa Hits Bonkers Milestone on Today’s ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’

Kelly Ripa has just reached a major milestone in her career—and some of her old pals and cast-mates joined her to celebrate.

On Thursday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, Ripa rang in her 30th anniversary with the Walt Disney Company and ABC. To mark the special occasion, the 50-year-old actress received gifts and even had a mini-reunion from her first-ever series.

Lucky for us, the producers of Live shared behind-the-scenes footage from the episode on Instagram. In one video, we see Ripa standing on set waiting for a gift, which she strongly believes to be a new car.

“That’s where the car is going to come in,” she tells Ryan Seacrest as she points to a group of balloons. “I’m just curious [about] what kind of car, that’s the question. Will it be a sensible car? Or will it be a sporty car?”

Ripa’s three-decade partnership with the media company started in 1990 when she landed the role of Hayley Vaughan on All My Children. In 2001, she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford as co-host of what then became Live with Regis and Kelly. Not to mention, she also appeared on the sitcom Hope & Faith with Faith Ford from 2003 to 2006.

Of course, it was only fitting for those who have been a part of Ripa’s Disney journey to join her in celebrating, including former AMC cast-mates Finola Hughes, Eva La Rue, Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, Dondré T. Whitfield and Walt Willey. Her on-screen turned real-life Hope & Faith co-star Ford also paid a visit to the special episode.