Leno says he'd return to 'Tonight' if asked

Host getting some heat in 10 p.m. slot, says he'd rather have stayed put

The Associated Press
updated 9:36 a.m. PT, Mon., Nov . 2, 2009

NEW YORK - Prime-time newcomer Jay Leno says he would have rather stayed put
at "The Tonight Show" - and if NBC offered him that job again, he'd take it.

In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable magazine published online Monday,
Leno hastily added that such a decision isn't his to make.

Conan O'Brien, his replacement as "Tonight" host after 17 years, is "doing
fine," Leno said.

"Conan is in the same position I was in when I took over. It takes a while.
Some will like it; some will leave forever and not come back."

Leno said he doesn't think the recent controversy surrounding his former
late-night rival David Letterman "will have a big effect at all."

Referring to Letterman's acknowledged sexual affairs with female members of
his staff, Leno said, "If it were me, it would kill me. I'm the guy who's
been married 29 years. But Dave has never pretended to be Mr. Moral America,
he's never set himself up that way. He's not a hypocrite."

"The Jay Leno Show" began on NBC in September, airing Monday through Friday
at 10 p.m. Eastern, where it has displaced several prime-time scripted
dramas. For that, and for his less-than-stellar ratings thus far, Leno has
taken heat within the TV industry as well as from critics.

It's just part of the battle, said Leno, who insisted he enjoys it.

"I get a certain amount of satisfaction from pounding my head against the
wall," he said. "I'm not having a bad time at 10 o'clock now. I look at this
as a job, and now I'm faced with a challenge, and it's a challenge I find
difficult but interesting."