Ryan Seacrest certainly is a busy boy. The American Idol host is due to host this year’s Emmy Awards on Sunday night and cover the pre-show build-up from the red carpet. How is this possible? Live from the Red Carpet and the Emmys themselves are both being broadcast by E! from 11pm on Sunday 16th, and the diminutive DJ is doing double-duty. I suppose that he’ll fit in as many celebrity chats and inane questioning of “and who are you wearing?” before dashing off at the last minute to spruce himself up for the ceremony itself. But such crazed running about begs the question: could no-one else have done one of these jobs?

Seacrest has a 3 year deal with E! for a reported $21million and so can’t really disappoint his home network. Likewise, the opportunity to host the most prestigious international awards for television excellence as watched by millions of viewers worldwide is a tough job to turn down. Being offered the Emmys gig is for many US presenters the pinnacle of their career, and in recent years has come to be a one-time affair that you’ve got to take when it comes around. He’s the youngest presenter for a few years and executives will be hoping that his popularity with teenage audiences will be evident in the viewing figures. And so do we think Ryan will do well?

He will have to find a balance between his verbal sparring with Idol judge Simon Cowell and his chummy approach on the red carpet. Don’t be too mean or it could fall flat (see David Letterman at the 1994 Oscars), but likewise too much sycophantic fawning and your objectivity is under question. With his star definitely on the rise, now could be the time for Ryan Seacrest to make this step up into more respected presenting roles. As long as he doesn’t leave American Idol – the show wouldn’t be the same without his girl-fights with Cowell.