Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Wendy Williams Says She's Not Nicer on TV Than on Radio/Expect Pretty Explicit Stuff on Upcoming NBC Show 'Love Bites'

Talk-show hostess Wendy Williams, whose sophomore season launches today (9/6), resists the idea that she's turned tamer and nicer since shifting her act from radio to TV. The daytime denizen, who was once known for her feuds with the likes of Whitney Houston, insists, "I'm still as inquisitive. I never equated that with being mean. It's really just how I approach celebrity culture."

The energetic 5'11" personality feels that, as a New Jerseyite with a 9-year-old son, she isn't really part of that culture — but does have plenty in common with viewers who watch her show.

She also notes, "I'm kind of surprised that my private life has not changed much at all" since she started the program. "Being on radio for over 20 years, and being very popular, gave me just enough of a glimpse into the limelight that I knew what I was getting into. It hasn't changed many of the people around me, either."

Whatever she's doing, it's working. Her show is now in some 53 countries in addition to the U.S. "Earlier this summer, I went to London for a quick three days, to get the show up and running there as well," reports Williams, who describes herself as a "worker bee."

"The reception was great. I did the BBC morning show, did interviews, went out. The nightclubs — I don't know. Everyone looked like Amy Winehouse," she lets us know.

As far as her own looks, she works out "twice a week. I watch what I eat, I'm very aware," adds Williams, who famously grew up as an overweight kid and has struggled to keep her weight under control as an adult. However, "I'm not expected to be a supermodel who's a size 0. I know exactly where my place is on TV — it's about what comes out of my mouth and what is in my heart."

And what is on her head. Asked whether she ever goes out sans wig to remain incognito, she roars, "Oh, no. I never roll down the driveway without a wig. First of all, that's the money shot.

Williams, who unveils a new set today, has a string of guests lined up for the new season ranging from Cloris Leachman to Jordin Sparks.

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Greg Grunberg is philosophical about the bumps and stalls of his forthcoming "Love Bites" series en route to its mid-season unveiling — bumps and stalls including recasting on the NBC show, and the pregnancy of star Becki Newton.

"It's a tribute to how talented she is that they're waiting for her," he points out, speaking of the series from Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Cindy Chupack ("Sex and the City"). "But I think the wait will make the show better in the long run. We now have Constance Zimmer in to play my wife — she's amazing on 'Entourage.'"

Grunberg actually came aboard "Love Bites" as a guest star in the pilot, along with Jennifer Love Hewitt. "They fell in love with my character and wanted me to stay on," he notes.

The hour-long romantic comedy anthology series features three loosely connected stories of love, sex, marriage and dating. Its similarity to the old "Love, American Style" has been duly noted — but these won't be your grandma's love stories. In fact, Grunberg lets us know there will be pretty explicit stuff, including "conversations that go on in the bedroom between couples. Once again, I'm doing a project my kids can't see," he laughs. "But it's a 10 o'clock show — for teens and up. And it's very funny."

IN THE CLINCHES: Speaking of sexy TV, Kim Raver and James Tupper have a torrid thing going on — in the forthcoming season of "Grey's Anatomy." How does her husband handle it when the actress is busy participating in on-camera lust? "I have an incredibly supportive husband," she tells us. "I think he's very interested in the work, and he can see it for what it is. And you know, it really is so mechanical — this hand here, tilt head down. I guess, hopefully, we're doing our job right if it seems hot and heavy," she adds. It also helps that Raver's husband, Manuel Boyer, is a filmmaker himself — a handsome French filmmaker, to be exact.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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