LIVE! With Regis and Tamara. If Canadians could have their say, CTV Weathercaster would be made a permanent co-host with legendary host Regis Philbin. Earlier this morning at 9:00 a.m., CTV British Columbia's own Tamara Taggart sat beside Regis as his co-host for a day on LIVE! With Regis and Kelly. The show was taped on Thursday morning at ABC studios in New York.

"Well, it ranks No. 1, for sure," Tamara Taggart said of the experience. "It was everything I thought it was going to be, plus more."

Taggart was selected to co-host the program after entering the Local to LIVE!: Co-Host for a Day talent search last month. After weeks of waiting, she finally found herself behind the scenes at LIVE! on Thursday morning, anxiously awaiting show time.

"I had a bit of the dry mouth," she said. "And butterflies in my tummy."

Sitting in her dressing room, Taggart was greeted by host Regis Philbin, who then escorted her out to begin taping her big daytime TV debut.

"The best memory I have -- and there are quite a few from that short hour that went by so fast -- is Regis came by my dressing room and said, 'OK, kid, let's go,' and he grabbed my hand and he held my hand," Taggart said. "And we walked down the hallway holding hands. It was so sweet. He was giving me all these words of encouragement.

"He is incredibly gracious, and so kind and funny and witty," she said. "I mean this guy is sharp."

On the program, Taggart and Philbin interviewed Fox News journalist Geraldo Rivera and actress Renee Zellweger -- who she chatted with about her hometown.

"She was amazing, she was a great interview - and she had lots to say about Vancouver!" she said.

Zellweger said she has many fond memories of filming in Vancouver, and singles out Hastings Street for its eclectic residents.

Tamara made a couple of references to Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Games and presented Regis with a Quatchi doll.

Tamara arrived in The Big Apple on Tuesday night, along with her musician husband Dave Genn of the band 54-40. It's her first time in New York, she says, and now that taping is wrapped she plans to live it up and see the sights.

"We're having fun," she said. "The kids are at home, and yeah, we decided to make a little weekend out of it."

Stay tuned to CTV News at Six on Monday for an exclusive look at behind the scenes with Regis and Tamara and on CTV News at Six on Tuesday as Tamara does Manhattan.