• June 7, 2001

Regis Philbin will have another round of new co-hosts on his morning talk show, at least for a little while.

Philbin's sidekick, Kelly Ripa of the ABC soap opera "All My Children," is going on maternity leave. Her last day is Friday, and she'll be gone just four weeks.

"Everybody's raising their eyebrows about that," he told AP Radio. "She's welcome to take six or eight or how many she needs. We understand, you know, but she wants to do it in four."

In the meantime, Philbin said, a series of college students will fill in on the syndicated "Live with Regis & Kelly."

Ripa, 30, and her husband, "All My Children" co-star Mark Consuelos, already have a 3-year-old son, Michael Joseph. She replaced Kathie Lee Gifford as Philbin's co-host in February.

- AP