Following Charlie Rose's firing for allegations of sexual harassment, "CBS This Morning" is seeking to convince Oprah Winfrey to fill in for him, Page Six reported on Wednesday.
"They are begging Oprah to fill in," said a TV insider. "Not full time . . . But they are hoping she'll do one day, two days, one hour, fill in 'til Christmas. Anything."
Although there have been reports that a rotating cast of CBS News employees will step in, one insider said that "Unless you get a superstar [on the show], it's always going to be, 'Charlie's missing.'"
A representative for Winfrey said she has not been officially asked to join the show, while CBS declined to comment on the matter.
Winfrey joined CBS' "60 Minutes" a few months ago after the network had wooed her for five years. Winfrey also is best friends with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King, who actually mentioned Winfrey on the show on Tuesday.
"I really am still reeling," King said. "I got an hour and 42 minutes of sleep last night. Both my son and my daughter called me. Oprah called me and said, 'Are you OK?' I am not OK."
Rose was fired on Tuesday, a day after eight women accused Rose of sexual misconduct in a report in The Washington Post that detailed a pattern of coercion and harassment, The Hill reported.
In a statement, Rose acknowledged that he had "behaved insensitively" at times, but insisted that some of the allegations leveled against him were not accurate.