Leah Remini, Whitney Cummings & Sherri Shepherd Boost 'The Wendy Williams Show' Ratings As Host Continues To Battle Health Issues
Despite Wendy Williams being absent from her daytime talk show, the ratings are growing without her.
According to The Wrap, the week ending on October 24 — in which Leah Remini took over hosting duties — The Wendy Williams Show grew 33% in household ratings.
The postponed premiere of the syndicated show kicked off with a 0.8 rating. This metric is on par with the same week last year, which gained a 0.9 rating. Prior to the October 18 launch of new episodes, the previous week of reruns scored a 0.5 rating in audience gain.
Amongst other daytime talk shows like Dr. Phil, Live With Kelly and Ryan, The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Wendy Williams Show ranked fifth in overall viewership.
The King of Queens actress hosted the show for a four-day stint from October 19 to October 22. The following week, comedian Whitney Cummings spent five days filling in at the hot topics table. Sherri Shepherd is currently taking the reins from Monday, November 1 to Friday, November 5.
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The slew of guest hosts has been a way of keeping the show running as the former radio DJ continues to recover from debilitating health issues. Williams — who also battled a breakthrough case of COVID-19 — has reportedly been experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves' Disease, a thyroid condition.
Devoted Wendy watchers have had mixed opinions on the different celebrities taking a spin at hosting the chat show. As OK! previously reported, Remini had the audience especially divided.
One viewer commented on the show's Instagram post as they wrote, “Leah needs a show!❤️.” While another follower disagreed: “How do you have the wendy show without wendy....wendy has already made her mark, got her star, had a movie....she needs to take care of herself and cancel the show.”
It has not yet been announced when — or if — Williams will be returning to her regular hosting duties.
