Sherri Shepherd Returning to Guest Host as Wendy Williams Extends Leave

Sherri Shepherd

Sherri Shepherd will return as a guest host on The Wendy Williams Show in December after the actress and comedian won over fans when she filled in earlier this month.

Shepherd will take a seat in Williams’ purple chair the week of December 13, the production team announced Tuesday on Instagram.

“You asked for it and we delivered. We’re thrilled to announce that @sherrieshepherd is making her highly-anticipated return to guest host The Wendy Williams Show on Monday, December 13. Sherri will take over hosting duties through Friday, December 17 before the holiday hiatus,” the post said.

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Shepherd was a ratings winner when she previously filled in for Williams. According to TheWrap, the show saw a 0.9 rating for the week that ended Nov. 7. Those numbers marked the best ratings since season 13 premiered. Meantime, another report on Tuesday said the talk show saw its worst ratings of the season when actor Michael Rapaport guest hosted.

This week rappers Remy Ma and Fat Joe are filling in for Williams.

News of Shepherd’s December return comes amid troubling reports about Williams’ health.

On Tuesday a source told The Sun the daytime diva will “never” return to host her show because of “serious” health issues. The source claimed producers plan to announce early next year that Williams, 57, is leaving the program for good.

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Earlier this week, reports surfaced claiming Williams is suffering from early onset dementia. However, her brother Tommy disputed those claims, telling The Sun Williams has not been “displaying that type of behavior” to her family.

“We routinely go up and check on Wendy even though we’re all down here in Florida,” Tommy explained. “So no, we don’t have any concerns concerning her mental state. It’s all physical.”

As previously reported, the premiere date for season 13 of The Wendy Williams Show was pushed back several times due to Williams contracting a breakthrough case of COVID-19, and complications from her previous diagnosis of Graves’ Disease.