If you ever thought So You Think You Can Dance judge Mary Murphy should put her footwork where there mouth is, your wish is about to be granted.

The TV Fanatic has learned that the show is planning a huge number for its two-part finale airing Aug. 6 and 7. And Mary may be taking to the stage to appear in it.

“I am working on something that is a secret for the finale, which will probably be the biggest surprise in ten years,” she told me at luncheon for the release of Core Rhythms dance exercise DVD at Dance Times Square Latin and Ballroom studio in New York City. “And it is something that involves me.”

Mary is definitely in shape to get her groove on. Since sweating with Core Rhythms instructors Jaana Kunitz and Julia Powers, who also teach classes at Mary's studio, the Champion Ballroom Academy in San Diego, Calif., Mary’s dropped 40 pounds.

“My favorite dessert when I was dancing, and I ate it almost every day, was a layers of Haagen Daaz ice-cream with hot Mrs. Fields cookies right out of the oven."

But with the pounds piling on, she decided to make a major change.

“The workout made it easy for me to go back to something I already knew how to do and it enabled me to stick with the program as well,” said the former ballroom competitor. “I lost 30 pounds in about four months.”

Mary loves to use her DVD on the road. “I’m so grateful that I have something that I can do if I can’t get to the gym,” she says.

As for the perfectly abled bodies on SYTYCD, Mary knows who she wants to take the crown this season. “I’d like to see a hip hop dancer win the show,” she confesses. “I think Twitch and Josh have brought so much to the show... either of them would be a great dance ambassador.”

So You Think You Can Dance, elimination round, airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on Fox.

The red eye cross-country can suck the life out of you. I should know.

It's how I made it back from my last day at TCA in sparkly Beverly Hills to the gritty, sticky, crowded streets of New York City, the place I gladly call home.

As I settle back into my studio apartment that I'll have to clean on my own (oh, sweet housekeeping at the Beverly Hilton, I'll miss you!), there are moments from my first TCA I'll never forget. Here are my most memorable highlights from NBC Universal's two days of presentations.

• Having host Deborah Norville, who is celebrating 20 years of Inside Edition this year, pointing out that I'm the reporter "giving out hugs" at her luncheon. 

• Listening to Chuck's Zachary Levi extol the praises of his new iPhone 2 at the NBC party Sunday night. "I'm a little crazy with it," he admitted. "I've got my Sudoku and crossword puzzles on there. It's great."

• Swapping workout tips with Adrianne Palicki of Friday Night Lights (the new season debuts on DirecTV Oct. 1). "I do this one class in Los Angeles called Yoga Booty Ballet. It kicks your ass. It's great," she said.

• Discovering my mutual love of bar-b-que soy crisps with Saturday Night Live's Will Forte. Let's split a bag soon!

• Spotting Gary Busey chowing down on oatmeal at the Sports Club LA in Beverly Hills.

• During the Deal or No Deal syndication luncheon, watching host Howie Mandel ask a reporter if he "wanted to get a room," as set journalist kept pestering the pretty Deal or No Deal model wielding the question microphone.

• Getting a one-on-one with Coolio from the new Oxygen series Coolio's Rules and in the middle of the conversation, him blurting out, "I like the way you're shaped." Guess that morning workout paid off.

• Watching Kath and Kim star Molly Shannon, who wore booty shorts at the series' presentation, strut her long, lean legs in Christian Louboutins to get into her town car. I wanna work out where she's working out.

No wonder I slept Tuesday away!

Until TCA next summer,

TV Fanatic 

Who's smarter than a championship athlete?

Maybe a couple of school children.

While the news has yet to be confirmed by the network, I'm hearing that boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and retired basketball player-turned-actor Rick Fox will return to the classroom as they join the next celeb roster for the Fox game series Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader.

They wouldn't be the first star athletes to test their grade school recall against a group of precocious tweens. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk appeared last season, as well as American Idol alums Kellie Pickler and Clay Aiken (and we know that stage is kind of a sport in itself!).

Well, if Sugar Ray doesn't do so great, he can always blame his lapse of memory on the post-work hazard of a couple of blows to the head. I don't know what Rick will do if he doesn't get things right.

 

I’m gonna taking dating lessons from The Real Housewives of Orange County alum Jo De La Rosa.

After surviving an onscreen break-up with ex-fiancé Slade Smiley, she’s back on the dating scene. And who is helping her find Mr. Right? Her almost husband!

Jo’s renewed search for love is chronicled in the new series, Date My Ex: Jo & Slade, a show she almost didn’t make.

“I didn’t really want to do it,” she tells me. “I had already done the reality thing and needed a break.”

It was the startling twist of having Slade’s input (he actually hosts her would-be suitors in his home), that helped her make her decision. “I thought it was cool they’d be living with him and he’d be checking them out,” she explains.

Jo has a theory on why Slade signed up for the job. “Because he was sick and tired of me calling him at 10 p.m. asking him to come over and hang a shelf or fix a pipe that was broken,” she laughs.

She confesses there would be no show if Slade was the one doing the dating. “I couldn’t do it,” she declares. “Slade has moved to Los Angeles, and I’ll see him around town on dates and it’s just weird.”

Yep, Jo and Slade still have feelings for one another. “Slade and I are still close. We loved each other,” she says. “I think if you leave on amicable terms, you can stay friends.”

Hmmm, at the end of this series, does Jo have a new beau -- or a rekindled romance? “You’ll just have to watch,” she teases. “I may find love, I may go back to Slade or I might say 'Peace out' to all of them.”

A dating mystery we can’t wait to see solved.

Date My Ex: Jo & Slade premieres Monday, July 21 at 10 p.m. on Bravo.