Ryan Seacrest Returns to ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’ After Kelly Ripa Hosts Solo

Ryan Seacrest is back in action following a two-day absence from Live With Kelly and Ryan. After having to stay home sick, the American Idol judge joined co-host Kelly Ripa at the socially distanced hosts desk Monday morning, marking the first time he has been on the ABC talk show since Wednesday of last week.

To celebrate his return, the talk show took to Instagram to share a clip of Seacrest and Ripa preparing to kick off Monday’s segment. Writing “We’re live now,” the video showed the co-hosts walking down a hall backstage, maintaining a safe amount of distance, before heading onto the stage, where they briefly discussed a little football. Seacrest, despite his illness last week, appeared ready to take on the day.

During Monday’s show, Seacrest and Ripa sat down with Kim Cattrall and Ali Wentworth, sharing a few behind-the-scenes photos and clips to the show’s official Instagram page. The co-hosts also took a moment to discuss the Friday passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg died at the age of 87 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, who passing leaving a Supreme Court vacancy that President Donald Trump is rushing to controversially fill.

Prior to Seacrest’s big return this week, Ripa had been making history by hosting the talk show by herself for the first time. Fans, although worried about Seacrest’s health, had heaped praise among the host, writing in the Instagram comments of the show’s posts that she was “doing a fantastic job” on her own. Others applauded her by simply writing, “well done.”

Seacrest, meanwhile, had been busy showering himself with some TLC at home. Although fans worried about his health, as he had not divulged what was ailing him other than the show announcing he was experiencing a “sore throat,” the co-host quelled their fears on Sunday by revealing that he was boosting his health with some homemade ginger root hibiscus tea. His home remedies seemed to do the trick, because just the day prior, on Saturday, he was feeling well enough to host the first-ever virtual iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Seacrest’s illness came amid enhanced safety precautions on sets amid the coronavirus pandemic. As Seacrest and Ripa returned to the studio earlier this month, reuniting for the first time in 180 days, a number of measures were taken to ensure their health and safety, including ensuring that they are following social distancing guidelines by maintaining several feet of distance between the co-hosts, as well as their guests, throughout the show.