DR. PHIL McGRAW WELCOMES OPRAH WINFREY -- FOR THE FIRST TIME -- TO HIS HIT, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED DAYTIME TALK SHOW AIRING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Dr. Phil and Oprah Reminisce about their Ten-Year Friendship / Partnership; Jay Leno, Gayle King and 2007 "American Idol" Winner Jordin Sparks Also Join Dr. Phil; 1,000th Celebration So Big that it Spreads into 1,001st Episode To Air the Following Day, on Tuesday, February 12
Hollywood, CA - February 5, 2008 - Dr. Phil McGraw welcomes special guest Oprah Winfrey, for the first time, onto his hit, nationally syndicated daytime talk show as he commemorates the 1,000th episode of DR. PHIL, a "grand" celebration too big to be contained in only one hour. "The 1,000th Episode" airs on Monday, February 11. "The 1001st Episode" airs the next day, Tuesday, February 12. (Check local listings for station and time).
This marks Oprah's debut on DR. PHIL. She makes her appearance in the first half of "The 1000th Episode." The two daytime stars reminisce about their first meeting ten years ago during the infamous 1998 lawsuit brought against her in Amarillo, Texas, by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association for what they claimed were derogatory comments made on her show about the safety of American beef. During her ordeal, Oprah was recommended to Dr. Phil, who, at the time, was a litigation consultant at his own firm.
It was a win-win situation for Oprah. Not only was she vindicated at trial's end, but she saw a new daytime star in the persona of the larger-than-life, plain-talking life strategist.
Dr. Phil's numerous regular appearances from 1998-2002 on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" propelled him to a new career as host of his eponymous series.
Other surprises in the two-part, two-hour celebration include an appearance by "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, who "crashes" the party to present a very deserving member of the audience with a special prize. Musical performances include 2007 "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, the University of Southern California's drum line and the Laker Girls.
Gayle King, editor-at-large of "O" magazine, a regular contributor to "Oprah" and an avid viewer of DR PHIL, banters with Dr. Phil about their e-mail conversations and why she sometimes keeps her correspondence to him a secret from best friend Oprah. Audience members include past guests who with updates on how their lives had changed since appearing on DR. PHIL.
Congratulatory messages to Dr. Phil upon reaching his broadcast milestone are offered by many show business luminaries, including David Letterman; Larry King; Jimmy Kimmel; Rachael Ray; cast members of ABC's "The View;" Howie Mandel; Judge Judy Sheindlin; Vanna White; Marie Osmond; Michael Bubl�; Josh Groban; Vanessa Hudgens; Mary J. Blige and others.
"Oprah had a vision about creating a new television genre, because nobody had done a show like this before," said Dr. Phil. "I think, because of what she started, we have opened up a dialogue about mental health in America -- marital problems, child abuse, the many things that people suffer from - due to her credibility and the desire to help people deal with these issues with dignity and respect."
"At the time, before we had all this reality television, we hadn't seen anybody like Phil who was so upfront and direct." said Oprah. "Phil had something that I hadn't seen in anybody else before. The first time I had him on my show was to say �thank you' for all his help during my trial. So, his regular appearances evolved from that and it was pretty clear that after the first year of his Tuesday appearances that he should have his own show."
"To see these two legends together on stage was such a great television moment," said Executive Producer Carla Pennington.
Since then, besides the highly-rated talk show and sold-out speaking engagements around the world, the McGraw brand has grown to include six "New York Times" best-sellers. This fall, CBS Television Distribution and the DR. PHIL producers will launch the new, spin-off daytime series, "The Doctors."
Thirteen talk shows have come and gone since DR. PHIL launched in September, 2002. In its present season (2007-08), the series averages 6.4 million viewers daily -- 4.7 households AA% / 4.8 households GAA% (Source - NSS 2007/2008). DR. PHIL places within the top four first-run syndicated programs across key female demographics and has been the number two rated daytime talk show every week since its premiere.
About The DR. PHIL Show
Executive Producer Carla Pennington has been with DR. PHIL for all 1,001 shows, as have Supervising Producers Angie Kraus Bell, Kandi Amelon-Sawyer, Kathy Giaconia, Lisa Steinke and Director Paul Casey.
The syndicated series, DR. PHIL, was created by Harpo Productions and is produced by Peteski Productions in association with CBS Television Distribution. It is broadcast on over 213 stations representing 99.9% of the country.
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