ABC/Adam Larkey; ABC/Kelsey McNeal; Michael Desmond/ABCIf it were up to former Dancing With the Stars contestant Shannon Elizabeth, we would already know who was replacing Samantha Harris as cohost of the long-running reality competition show.
"It's pretty much an obvious no-brainer that Brooke Burke will do it," Elizabeth told us at the recent WPT Invitational poker tournament benefiting the Chrysalis homeless charity. "She's hosted before. It's a position for a host. This is her arena—it's hosting. That's what she does."
Burke, who hosted E!'s very own Wild On series, has had her eyes on the DWTS gig ever since Harris announced her departure last month...
"I just read about Samantha Harris leaving DWTS...Hmmmmm," Burke, who won the disco ball trophy with Derek Hough, tweeted.
And on Saturday, Burke announced on Twitter that she would be auditioning for the gig today. "I'm testing on Tuesday," she said. "Thanks for wishing [me] luck and for all the positive energy."
Other names tossed around as possible replacements include Paula Abdul, Melissa Rycroft, Vanessa Minnillo, Drew Lachey, Nancy O'Dell and E! News' Ashlan Gorse.
But Elizabeth thinks Burke will get the job because she and Harris have a similar appearance. "Brooke's a little bit of a Samantha look-alike in some ways," she said. "Usually they like to go with something similar to what people are used to. I just feel like she'll be the one."
Dancing's 10th season kicks off March 22; the new batch of contestants will be revealed March 1. A rep for ABC emailed us: "We will announce what we're doing for co-host position later, exact date hasn't been finalized."
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Harris isn't the only one bidding adieu to DWTS. Lacey Schwimmer just announced she's leaving the show, too.