Sept 11 (IBNS) The so the saying goes-there is a winner for every loser. So when Paula Abdul left the judge’s seat the producers of American idol were in a soup, but for a few moments!!

Fox, Fremantle Media and 19 Entertainment were left scrambling for a suitable replacement. They kept on booking guest judges from different cities for auditions, while the core research group kept looking for a long-term replacement for Paula Abdul.

And then yesterday the bolt struck from the blue, they struck upon the idea of Ellen DeGeneres, who was the guest judge for Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and hosted “Idols Give Back”. But Ellen, who is obvciously attached to her talk show which is extremely popular, seemed a far shot.

But a phone-call changed the whole picture and brightened up the search party with a blinding ray of happy hope.

Cecile Frot-Coutaz, chief executive of FremantleMedia North America said, “She thought that it was a fantastic idea and sounded very keen on the project and we all got very, very excited. It was a pretty easy, uncomplicated and straightforward process I must say.”

And the appointment will certainly go down in the books of Hollywood’s best kept secret in the 24-hour blogging and twitting era. It was only revealed when Ellen made a formal announcement just 24-hours before she was to take the judge’s seat while taping for her talk show. The way to go!!