Michelle Collins’ ‘The View’ Co-Host Appointment Delayed To Give Rosie Perez Her Moment

ABC News this morning made a last-minute decision to delay announcing it was adding Michelle Collins as co-host on The View, in order to give Rosie Perez A Moment.

Meanwhile, Stacy London is being eyed to become part of a panel of rotating guest co-hosts as The View struggles to regain on-air stability.

Collins has been in the mix to join the show as co-host since back when the other Rosie – O’Donnell left the show in February. Collins guest-hosted on today’s broadcast of The View, and The Reporters Who Cover Television had been alerted an announcement would be made at the end of the program.

But, when Rosie Perez’ teary-eyed heartfelt on-air confirmation of Deadline’s report from yesterday that she was leaving the show became A Moment, producers made the smart last-minute call to let this be Perez’s day on the show, and to hold off on the Collins’ announcement, which could come as early as tomorrow morning.

Collins has been on the show dozens of times and impressed producers with her quickness and humor. Collins has a profile as up-and-coming talent, with frequent guest gigs on Chelsea Lately, Today show, and Wendy Williams and Tyra Banks shows, among other programs, and various hosting gigs for VH1.

The show will have five co-hosts next season, including Collins, Raven-Symone and Whoopi Goldberg; Nicolle Wallace, who joined the show this season with a one-year contract, is still in talks about her future with the show.

Meanwhile, as producers look to bring back some sense of on-air stability to The View, they’re putting together a stable of regular contributors, and Stacy London’s name is among those being eyed to join the roster. Among their duties, they’ll be deployed to fill in as co-hosts take time off for other projects (see Perez’s hiatus while she rehearsed for Larry David’s B’way play) and to jump in and fill the chair when a host exits. Molly Sims also is being eyed, as Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva previously reported. Producers hope this contributor panel helps stop the show’s on-air revolving door sensation.

Perez is the latest to announce her exit after just one season with the show. Rosie O’Donnell left after not quite six months this time; she’d left the show after one season last time she co-hosted.  Jenny McCarthy likewise lasted just one season, exiting in 2014. Sherri Shepherd announced her exit in 2014 as well, though she’d been with the show since ’07. That’s also the year Barbara Walters sort-of retired from appearing on-air on the daytime talker