E! News anchor Maria Menounos leaving E! News after 3 years as she's battling a brain tumor.

E! News anchor Maria Menounos is battling a brain tumor and is leaving E! News on E! Entertainment (DStv 124).

Maria Menounos who joined E! News in 2014 and whose mother is also battling brain cancer, says she was diagnosed in April 2017 with a brain tumour and underwent surgery to remove the golf-ball sized growth.

In a statement Maria Menounos who replaced Giuliana Rancic behind the E! News anchor table, said "I am so grateful for the past three years at E!, I had such an amazing time co-hosting with Jason Kennedy and working everyday with the wonderful roster of talent on the show including producers, staff and crew."

"It was such a special, good-hearted group and one I’ll always consider family. A special thank you to Frances Berwick [of NBCUniversal] and Adam Stotsky [E! Entertainment president] for all the support they have shown me through the years especially during these tough times. I will truly miss everyone and looking forward to this next chapter in my life."

"Our thoughts and support go out to Maria and her family and we wish them all the best knowing that Maria will tackle this with the same fierce dedication she is known for," says Adam Stotsky, E! Entertainment president. "We are grateful for Maria's many contributions to E! over the past three years".

E! says the E! News team will "continue to include a diverse stable of hosts, entertainment journalists and correspondents across all platforms".

CONFIRMED. E! announces Maria Menounos is taking over as anchor from Giuliana Rancic; adds 3 new E! News correspondents.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) confirmed the widely expected announcement on Thursday night, announcing that Maria Menounos who has slowly been pushing Giuliana Rancic out, will be taking over as the new co-anchor of E! News.

The ambitious Maria Menounos has reportedly been steadily gunning for Giuliana Rancic's job since joining E! Entertainment in May last year, edging in on Giuliana Rancic's turf by taking over some red carpet hosting duties, doing her own show Untold with Maria Menounos, and appearing on E! News and across various other E! shows like Live from E!.

Giuliana Rancic who didn't want to appear to have been "pushed out of the network she helped to make a success", actually had her contract extended by two years to mid-2016, but eventually bailed on E!, announcing earlier this month that she's quitting as E! News anchor.

Giuliana Rancic will however continue to make appearances on the 3rd revamp of the derailed Fashion Police returning soon for the 36th Primetime Emmy Awards and continue to do red carpet coverage.

Giuliana Rancic joined E! Entertainment in 2002 as a correspondent for E! News and has been anchoring the show which came to the brink of cancellation since January 2005 when she revived its viewership and turned it into a success.

Maria Menounos will now co-anchor E! News alongside Terrence Jenkins after Giuliana Rancic makes her exit from the daily entertainment news show on 10 August.

Since Maria Menounos joined E!, several insider reports detailed how the two women allegedly couldn't stand each other.

Insiders said they've witnessed how Giuliana Rancic over the past few months refused to talk to Maria Menounos and went out of her way not to be in the same room as her when off-camera, aware of Maria Menounos plotting a so-called "take-over".

Besides Jason Kennedy and Catt Sadler, E! News is also adding three new correspondents, Zuri Hall, Erin Lim and Sibley Scoles who will report for the show.

"As an established entertainment and news journalist with strong Hollywood connections, Maria Menounos has proven herself to be a great fit with the E! News team," says John Najarian, E! executive vice president of news and digital in a statement announcing her show upgrade.

"With their diverse backgrounds and wide-ranging areas of expertise, Sibley Scoles, Erin Lim and Zuri Hall will be key additions to E! News which boasts the youngest and most affluent audience amongst all entertainment shows," says John Najarian.

"We are thrilled with E! News' success as we continue to integrate the show more closely with the network's digital platforms and to create new ways of engaging with an evolving audience that consumes information and entertainment across multiple screens."

BREAKING. Maria Menounos signs to join E! Entertainment; will do red carpet coverage and her own new show, Untold with Maria Menounos.

Maria Menounos has signed a multiyear contract with E! Entertainment (DStv 124) to do live red carpet coverage for the TV channel, and will also be doing her own show, Untold with Maria Menounos.

Her contract comes a day after longtime E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic extended her contract by a further two years and news that Giuliana Rancic recommitted herself to E!, not wanting to appear "pushed out" when Maria Menounos joins - which she now did.

"As we continue to expand E!'s dynamic news programming lineup, we're so excited to have Maria join the E! team to help drive the growth and expansion of E! as the global entertainment news leader," says Cyndi McClellan, E! president of network strategy and E! News in a statement.

"With her undeniable charisma and deep industry relationships, Maria has a huge fan following as one of the premiere entertainment news personalities in Hollywood today. While conceiving Untold, we always thought Maria was the ideal host because of her varied experiences not only in entertainment, but also in global reporting".

"We're thrilled to bring her talents to the network and to collaborate with her as we create and develop exciting new programming together".

Maria Menounos will join E!'s red carpet coverage team and will also be doing other specials.

Untold with Maria Menounos will cover celebrity trends.

"The series will cover an array of topics including Gen Y Royals, the rise of heroin in Hollywood, the popularity of electronic dance music and the rise of some reality stars from their humble beginnings. Each episode will be comprised of three extensive individual stories, as well as additional segments such as celebrity sound-off and pop culture minute," says E!.

"To be able to host, report and produce for an entire network, one that spans globally no less, is thrilling," says Maria Menounos in the statement.

"I'm equally excited to join a team of hosts and producers that are amongst the finest in our industry".