Regis Philbin did some things he’d never done during his five-week recovery from hip-replacement surgery — including catching some old friends on TV.
“I watched a lot of TV, stuff I never watched, like [former co-host] Kathie Lee [Gifford] on NBC — I never have the chance to see her,” said Philbin, 78, who returned to “Live with Regis & Kelly” yesterday (inset) for the first time since Nov. 30. “And Pat Sajack,” he said. “I never saw ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ and it’s only been on 30 years!”
Philbin said he doesn’t really need to use the cane — and definitely doesn’t need the walker he used as a gag during the opening of yesterday’s show.
“I’m feeling good and I’m not tired and there’s no opposition from the hip when I walk,” he said.
So did he go stir crazy?
“You know something? I enjoyed the time off,” he said. “I loved not getting up at 7:30 every morning wondering what I was going to say to Kelly [Ripa] that day. I gotta say, I enjoyed it.”