It may have been Whoopi Goldberg's first day as the new View moderator, but the show's powers-that-be, Barbara Walters and fellow executive producer Bill Geddie, were already thinking ahead this morning.Walters tells TV Guide that the long-vacant fifth seat will be filled "very soon," definitely before Elisabeth Hasselbeck's maternity leave starts in early November. Though they won't disclose the identity of their top choice, they did reveal that the new host will be a woman who has guest-hosted in the past. "It is someone you will know; we're not trying out any more," Geddie says. "Nobody need send me tapes. This is it, it's happening soon." So let's welcome Sherri… or Kathy… or… who knows?! We’ll keep you posted. —Reporting by Ileane RudolphUPDATE: Barbara Walters subsequently announced on Wednesday's show that the new panelist — still unnamed — would start Monday, Sept. 10.
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Whoopi Goldberg was all smiles backstage at The View, several moments after the not-so-surprise announcement that she’s the ABC chat show’s long-awaited new moderator. The comedian tells TV Guide she “felt safe” in the warm embrace of her new colleagues. She’s equally accepted by ex-Viewers. Goldberg revealed that the day before her formal announcement, Star Jones Reynolds, who left the show after a bit of nastiness, sent her flowers. “We’re friends,” says Goldberg. “She was really excited and she said, ‘You should do this, this is you. Go for it.’” Though Goldberg hadn’t yet heard from Rosie O’Donnell, the new host said she’s been reading O’Donnell’s blog “and the great stuff she’s written about me. What’s better than that? Nobody’s angry, nobody’s nasty, nobody’s unhappy.”Now that Goldberg’s filled the fourth seat, how about the fifth? View executive produc...
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