JERRY Springer says he could return to hosting “America’s Got Talent” after leaving the show to focus on his upcoming role in “Chicago” on the London stage.
“I would like to do ‘Talent’ again one day. I love the show and want to stay associated with it,” Springer told The Post yesterday from London, where he’s gearing up for “Chicago” rehearsals.
“Maybe one day I’ll host [‘Talent’] again,” he said, “but right now I’m grabbing this opportunity.
“I’m trying to have as many life experiences as possible.”
Springer raised eyebrows by leaving as host of “Talent,” a job he’d successfully filled for two seasons after the departure of original host Regis Philbin.
Springer was tapped to host on the heels of his fan-favorite turn on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”
“NBC was very nice to me and they were totally OK with [my leaving],” he said. “The truth is, they probably want someone who’s younger and better-looking than me anyway – and that’s not hard to find, honestly.”
Actor/singer Nick Cannon, 28, was hired as Springer’s replacement on “Talent,” which kicks off its next season this summer.
Springer says he made his decision to leave “Talent” – one of the few bright spots on NBC’s prime-time schedule – because the role of Chicago lawyer Billy Flynn was just too good an offer to turn down.
He’ll play the role, tackled by Richard Gere in the 2002 movie, for six weeks beginning in June.
“They’d been asking me for about two years [to do ‘Chicago’] and it was always a matter of when I could find the time,” he said. “Finally I figured this was the time to do it – before I get too old to dance.
“I ‘get’ the role,” he said of his part as Flynn. “He’s a lawyer, I’m a lawyer. He’s real flamboyant and uses showbiz to get his clients off and it’s set in Chicago – where I do my show.
“I get the talent and culture and the show’s history. “I don’t feel like, ‘Who the heck is this guy?’ ”
Springer (who was born in England) said there’s been “not even a whisper” of backlash in the U.K. to his tackling a stage role – on the vaunted boards of London’s West End, no less.
“Those days are gone,” he said. “I think 10 years ago, when my [talk] show was all controversial, it might have been an issue, but I’ve been doing so many other things since.
“Most of the things I do in showbiz are kind of fun – I just go in and tell jokes,” he said. “But I’m going to treat this with respect. It’s the West End. This is serious musical theatre. People devote their lives to it.
“I want to respect what they do.”
Springer kicks off the 19th season of “The Jerry Springer Show” this fall.