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Maria Menounos takes over from Giuliana Rancic at E! News

Cape Town – E! Entertainment (DStv 124) has announced that Maria Menounos will be taking over as the new co-anchor of E! News.

Menounos has reportedly been gunning for Giuliana Rancic's job since joining E! Entertainment in May last year, edging in on Rancic's turf by taking over some red carpet hosting duties, doing her own hour long show Untold with Maria Menounos, and appearing on E! News and across various other E! shows like Live from E!.

Rancic who didn't want to appear to have been "pushed out of the network she helped to make a success", had her contract extended to mid-2016, but eventually bailed on E!, announcing earlier this month that she's quitting as E! News anchor.

Rancic will however continue to make appearances on Fashion Police which will return for the 36th Primetime Emmy Awards and continue to do red carpet coverage.

Rancic joined E! Entertainment in 2002 as a correspondent for E! News and has been anchoring the show which came to the brink of cancellation. She revived its viewership and turned it into a success.

Menounos will now co-anchor E! News alongside Terrence Jenkins after Rancic makes her exit from the daily entertainment news show on 10 August.

Since Menounos joined E!, several insider reports detailed how the two women allegedly couldn't stand each other.

Insiders said they've witnessed how Rancic over the past few months refused to talk to Menounos and went out of her way not to be in the same room as her when off-camera, aware of Menounos plotting a so-called "take-over".

E! News adds 3 new correspondents

Besides Jason Kennedy and Catt Sadler, E! News is also adding three new correspondents, Zuri Hall, Erin Lim and Sibley Scoles will report for the show.

"As an established entertainment and news journalist with strong Hollywood connections, Maria Menounos has proven herself to be a great fit with the E! News team," says John Najarian, E! executive vice president of news and digital in a statement announcing her show upgrade.

"With their diverse backgrounds and wide-ranging areas of expertise, Sibley Scoles, Erin Lim and Zuri Hall will be key additions to E! News which boasts the youngest and most affluent audience amongst all entertainment shows," says Najarian.

"We are thrilled with E! News' success as we continue to integrate the show more closely with the network's digital platforms and to create new ways of engaging with an evolving audience that consumes information and entertainment across multiple screens."

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