Kelly Ripa Goes Solo on ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’ After Ryan Seacrest Falls Sick Days After Return to Studio

Kelly Ripa was flying solo during Thursday’s Live With Kelly and Ryan as co-host Ryan Seacrest rested at home with a sore throat. , The show is being “very cautious” with Seacrest feeling a little under the weather, after returning to the studio last week after months filming from home amid the coronavirus pandemic, opting to have him sit out of the day’s show. It’s unclear when he will return.

“Ryan is home with a sore throat. We’re all being very cautious these days,” the talk show shared on its Instagram Thursday alongside video of Ripa preparing to go on alone. Despite the last-minute change in the day’s show, Live fans had nothing but applause for how the All My Children alum held down the house solo.

“You are awesome Kelly! With or without a co-host,” one viewer commented. “I do hope Ryan recovers by tomorrow and it’s nothing more than a snorer’s throat.” Another person added, “I hope Ryan feels better and Kelly is doing a fabulous job on her own!” as a third chimed in, “Feel better Ryan, Kelly did a fabulous job on her own!”

Ripa and Seacrest documented their return to the set for the first time since March on Instagram last week, showing the bare bones staffing and socially distanced hosting that was configured to keep everyone safe during filming. One producer explained, “What’s cool is the hosts are gonna be so far apart, but at the same time we’re gonna put them together in an electronic effect, like magic. It feels much closer and warmer.”

Ripa and Secrest returned to Live on Labor Day, hosting a special outdoors broadcast of Live’s Labor Day Cookout, featuring guest Hilary Swank, a performance by Brett Eldredge and a focus on holiday dishes. Now that the two are back in the studio full-time, Live is spending the first month of shows diving deep into the world we live in today, including a range of how-tos and advice for spending time at home amid the pandemic. Celebrity guests for September include actor John Leguizamo, new Dancing With the Stars host and executive producer Tyra Banks, actress Jessica Alba, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, actress Lauren Cohan, Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel and singer Josh Groban.