Celebrity Mound

David Letterman

Ashley Judd

Josh Duhamel

Mario Lopez

The former “Saved by the Bell” star was touted by some insiders as the program’s “golden boy” when he was brought in last September, though the numbers tell a different story: Nielsen ratings for the show are down 6 percent from last year, and 25 per cent among females 18-34. (Traffic to the show’s Web site, however, is up.) Still, executive producer Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey tells us, “I couldn’t be happier with Mario. I put him on the next five shows I’m producing. I’ve worked with a lot of hosts, and he’s the best. He’s the hardest-working man I know.”

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Eva Longoria Parker (L) and Victoria Beckham

Eva Longoria Parker (L) and Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere (L) and Victoria Beckham

Felicity Huffman (L) and Eva Longoria Parker

Eva Longoria Parker, Mario Lopez and Hayden Panettiere

Eva Longoria Parker (L) and Lake Bell

“My shirtless photo-shoot days are behind me,” Mario Lopez tells PEOPLE in a bitter blow to beefcake.

Not that the buff new Extra host has anything to hide. “Obviously, being healthy and staying fit are important to me,” says the 34-year-old, who in the past seemed like the only serious rival to Matthew McConaughey in the bare-chest sweepstakes.

As of Monday, former The Bold and the Beautiful and Dancing with the Stars favorite Lopez – who was also memorably bare-bottomed in the shower for a 2006 episode of Nip/Tuck – will be happily hosting Extra on his own, full-time.

“My TV projects are my main priority,” he says. “And no, you will never see me host Extra without a shirt.”

No Back to the Shower
Still, to every rule there’s an exception – in this case, Nip/Tuck.

Lopez says he is “thrilled” to be reprising the role of Dr. Mike Hamoui on the cable series, with Dr. Mike moving to Los Angeles – where he can once again gain the attention of the ab-admiring Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) in the locker room.

“A small spoiler,” says Lopez. “Dr. Mike might not be taking anymore showers at the gym with Christian, but he will lose his shirt.”

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Extra is saying goodbye to host Mark McGrath and hello to new anchor Mario Lopez, once the show returns for its 15th season on Sept. 15, its producers have announced.

Current co-host Dayna Devon is due to remain as a special correspondent on the show, which has been renewed through the 2011-12 season.

Lopez, 34, who last month was named PEOPLE’s hottest bachelor, joined Extra in January 2007 and co-hosted the weekend edition of the program.

“Mario … has established himself as a highly engaging, likeable and sought-after host and personality,” Hilary Estey McLoughlin, president of Telepictures Productions, said in a statement.

After three years on Extra, McGrath, 40, plans to focus on his musical career, said the producers’ announcement. He is currently recording a new album with his band, Sugar Ray.

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MAJOR changes are ahead at “Extra.” Plagued by sagging ratings, suits at the long-running celebrity TV show plan to shake things up by axing hosts Mark McGrath and Dayna Devon, sources tell Page Six. Their likely replacement is Mario Lopez, who once worked for the program. A spokeswoman for “Extra” said there would be no comment. Lopez’s rep didn’t get back to us.

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The man People magazine dubiously named the “Hottest Bachelor” went to Tao earlier this week and stiffed the coat check girl. Our spy explains, “He was with a group of people and checked his man purse/sports bag. On his way out, he took the bag from the girl and just left her hanging.” A rep for Lopez didn’t get back to us.

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Mario Lopez may be PEOPLE’s Hottest Bachelor – but the A Chorus Line star and fitness buff has a shocking admission: He was a chubby baby. “I looked like a sumo wrestler,” Lopez says in a new interview. “My mom had to pull the fat folds apart when she bathed me!” But that’s all in his past.

As fans know, Lopez has mined his love of fitness to create his own book, Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness. The exercise guru, who is recently single, says that a full slate of projects has kept him off the dating market but that hasn’t stopped him from thinking about dating completely.

“I like a girl who’s from a modest sort of upbringing, because it’s more relatable,” he says, explaining what he looks for in a potential girlfriend. “I’m a first-generation American. My parents [Elvia and Mario Sr.] emigrated from Mexico and live in the same house I grew up in Chula Vista, Calif. I’d feel weird if the girl was a little too uppity or affluent, because I’m a very down-home kind of guy.”

For the lucky ladies who do manage to snag a date, expect to be flexible. “I like to go to a place in Koreatown in L.A. where they have private karaoke,” he says of his favorite date activity. “It’s a great place to bring a girl and see how she reacts. If she rolls with the punches and has a good time, then I’m like, ‘All right, this girl is cool!’”

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