That’s so Raven! After months of subbing as a guest panelist on ABC’s The View, Raven-Symone has been officially named the show’s newest co-host, the network announced Wednesday, June 10. The former Disney star, 29, will assume a permanent seat alongside View veteran Whoopi Goldberg, and recent additions Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez.
“The Disney Company has made another one of my dreams come true! Being a part of The View family will be a wonderful growing experience for me,” Symone said in a statement after her casting was announced at the top of Wednesday’s show. “The cast and crew are warm and welcoming and have made the transition into daytime talk easier. I have a lot to learn within this new arena, but being the apprentice of these spectacular women will only make me a better person and talk show host.”
Best known as the star of Disney’s long-running That’s So Raven and as Olivia on The Cosby Show, Symone has long been favored to take on the gig, and Us Weekly was first to report that the actress was in talks this spring. “[Execs] think she’s really smart but also a little kooky and so she’d be a good fit,” one TV insider told Us in May. “Every night she studies all the current events and topics for the next day,” a second source added. “Everyone is blown away. Nobody else prepares like she does!”
Barbara Walters, The View‘s creator and excutive producer, agrees. “Raven-Symone is a welcome addition to The View,” the TV titan said Wednesday. “She is happy, amusing and well-informed, and has already brought a unique perspective to the program that has resonated with our audience.”
Symone’s appointment is the latest change at the anchor desk. Shortly after co-hosts Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd departed the panel in August 2014, second-time co-host Rosie O’Donnell returned — only to exit the show months later, in February.
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