Seacrest: "The only thing I don't know is how versed he is in politics, world affairs. Does he read the paper? Is he interested in Iraq?"

Was King joking? Seacrest, 34, has a CV which reads like this: morning announcements at High School; afternoon DJ at Star 98.7 radio in Los Angeles; game show host of Gladiators 2000, Wild Animal Games, and Click; substitute host for E! channel's Talk Soup.

Seacrest is of Swedish descent and comes from a comfortable family in Atlanta. He has been tested by two personal controversies: his height, which he says is 5' 9" and everyone else 5' 5"; and his sexuality. To Stepping Out magazine he admitted to liking clothes shopping but said in his case that was not a "gay male habit"

but a "straight male habit". Stuff magazine named him 'American poster boy for metrosexuality'.

Larry King is larger than life. He was born to a New York Jewish garment worker, got into trouble for bouncing cheques, rose the hard way, married six women - one of them, a Playboy bunny, twice - has five children, and gave up smoking only after a near-fatal heart attack.

Seacrest was once seen hugging actress Mary-Kate Olsen and in March was ranked Number 7 in a list of 'The 100 unsexiest men in the world'. He could be the poster-boy for the un-manning of the American media, in both senses of the word.