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Tampa hosts 'Access Hollywood'

On Wednesday, Tampa is going Hollywood: Access Hollywood .

The celebrity news show is coming to town with co-anchor Billy Bush for an afternoon taping, part of a national tour that Bush said he hopes will turn into a relief mission to New Orleans on Thursday.

The nightly program moved this week from WFTS-Ch. 28 to WMOR-Ch. 32, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m., and is on a tour that Bush (who's a first cousin to President Bush and Gov. Jeb Bush) said gives the crew a chance to meet with fans and learn about different part of the country. On each stop, the traveling version of the show will highlight celebrities from the area and try to give viewers in other parts of the country a sense of each city, Bush said.

"There are so many parts of America that I've never seen, I get to go to places that I've never been," Bush said. "We meet people, they come out to say "hi,' it's great."

Bush, 33, has been to Tampa before, visiting when he played lacrosse for Colby College. Asked about local hot spots he has seen, he laughed and named a well-known Tampa "adult entertainment" spot.

Getting serious, Bush said the show was scheduled to visit New Orleans this week. Reflecting on damage done by Hurricane Katrina on Monday, Bush said he is lobbying to turn the stop into a relief mission.

"We are in discussion now about what we can do," he said. "If it's too much, if we'd just be in the way, then we can't. But we could bring supplies, if it's possible and if we're not in the way and state officials say it's okay.'

Katrina wouldn't be Bush's first brush with a hurricane. Playing around with friends as the effects of a hurricane brushed Rhode Island, Bush said he ventured out on the water in a motorboat.

"We were foolish," Bush said.

But the caper turned into something positive, Bush said. The group spotted people trying to get off moored sailboats as conditions got worse, and they ended up shuttling sailors back to land in the small boat.

Access Hollywood started the cross-country tour over the weekend in Miami to celebrate its 10th season, executive producer Rob Silverstein said. The three-week venture ends in Hollywood Sept. 16. Silverstein said he was still getting information Monday and didn't know if the New Orleans stop would be possible.

Bush and the Access Hollywood team expect to arrive at Tampa's Channelside complex for lunch around noon Wednesday, then tape a show from about 1 to 3 p.m. that would air Wednesday or Thursday. Spectators are welcome.

"It's going to be a great way to start off our next decade," Silverstein said. "People can come out and really watch us, we're incredibly friendly and approachable."