The View is looking to tap former co-host Debbie Matenopoulos to replace Meghan McCain, DailyMail.com can reveal.
An ABC source exclusively told DailyMail.com, 'Next year is our 25th season and we're considering Debbie Matenopoulos making a triumphant return to The View.'
Matenopoulos was one of the original hosts of the show alongside Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones and Joy Behar when it first aired in 1997.
McCain announced last week that she was resigning, but the ABC insider also hinted that another host may be exiting.
'While we need to fill the seat that Meghan has vacated, there may be another change coming that we need to plan for. But Debbie would be the perfect fit for our anniversary season,' they said.
An ABC insider has told DailyMail.com that the show is looking to replace Meghan McCain with former co-host Debbie Matenopoulos
Matenopoulos was one of the original hosts when the show aired in 1997, alongside Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones and Joy Behar
Matenopoulos served as co-host for two seasons before her exit but has appeared on the show as a guest co-host periodically.
Matenopoulos served as co-host for two seasons before her exit but has appeared on the show as a guest co-host periodically
The source said of Matenopoulos' return, 'Debbie's recent guest co-hosting of The Talk has not gone unnoticed at ABC and it would make sense to scoop her up.
'Debbie got such a raw deal when she was cast 24 years ago – she was only 21 and had no real life experience. Yet over the past 20 plus years she has blossomed, she's married, has a child, is a successful television host and she now could hold her own at The View's table, day after day.'
The source said that Matenopoulos was one of the reasons that The View was put on the map.
'Ratings struggled in those first two years that Debbie was at The View, but SNL took notice of the dynamic between Debbie and the other women and their The View skits became must viewing on Saturday nights. SNL's audience would then take a peek at The View to see Debbie and the other ladies in action on the show and The View's audience began to grow,' they said.
'Those of us that were here in the Barbara days remember how Barbara was image-obsessed and she couldn't function when the show was being made fun of on SNL. We were all convinced she had PTSD from the days when the brilliant Gilda Radner played Baba Wawa and mercilessly mocked her speech impediment. Barbara blamed Debbie, so Debbie had to go.
'We all laughed along with Debbie when she owned the moment and guest starred as herself on SNL after leaving The View, by making fun of the entire situation. Debbie has also returned to the show over the years and it's always been fun to have her back.
'It would be a great blast from the past and Debbie certainly has the experience and wit to return to the table and reclaim her seat.'
Following DailyMail.com's publication of the story, a spokesperson for Matenopoulos said: 'Debbie will always have a fond place in her heart for The View, the show that launched her career as a 21-year-old straight out of NYU.
'Her rep has in fact been
