Despite having that pregnancy glow, Padma Lakshmi looks exhausted and bewildered by all the extra attention as she visits “Live with Regis and Kelly.” [10/9/09, NYC]

• Padma Lakshmi is pregnant with her first child, but she’s refusing to name the father. [Starpulse]—Well, she looks pretty close to the unidentified man in this photo.
• TLC has suspended filming the Gosselin children as a result of Jon Gosselin‘s “erratic behavior” and his “grossly inaccurate” statements. [Us Weekly]—It must be really difficult to go through a divorce while filming a reality show.
• And how, you might ask, does Jon Gosselin plan on paying for his trips to St. Tropez without a TV paycheck? He’s asking $30,000 for showing his face at events for a few hours. [MSNBC Scoop]

Esquire has taken pains to uncover “75 Things You Didn’t Know About Women,” and they’ve gone straight to the horse’s mouth to find out ladies’ deepest, darkest untold secrets. Padma Lakshmi, Sarah Silverman, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Kerry Washington weigh in on men, moods, and more. A few of our favorites after the jump ...

My mom always used to joke in the kitchen, “Never trust a skinny chef,” even though she’s a skinny chef herself. Her words always ring through my mind when I see thinso chefs on the Food Network, or super-slim food critics like Padma Lakshmi of “Top Chef.” She is perhaps the most baffling—I see her eat plates full of food laden with fat (hellloooo butter!), and yet she always looks ridiculously slender. How does she do it?

So if that commercial for the Western Bacon Thickburger didn’t convince you, this advertisement surely will: Padma Lakshmi is really,really sexy. It’s for her jewelry line and was shot last spring by legendary fashion photographer, Steven Meisel. As is plenty obvious, Lakshmi is in the buff and “dressed” only in gold necklaces and gemstones from her collection. The ad will be featured in magazines this fall and will also be seen on her website, PadmaLakshmi.com. The jewels are sold online at Bergdorf Goodman stores nationwide. Nude model/designer not included. Do we like? [WWD]

Padma Lakshmi, the hot foodie we’ve come to love on “Top Chef,” is making the leap into a sitcom. Peacock and Universal Media Studios are creating a half-hour show, tentatively titled “Single Serving,” specifically for Lakshmi. It’ll follow her in the culinary world, and sounds a little bit like Courtney Cox’s character on Friends, maybe? Although she’s best known for playing host for the chef competition on Bravo, Lakshmi has dabbled in acting before. She’s had a role in “The Ten Commandments,” an ABC miniseries, as well as appearances in the full-length features “The Mistress of Spices,” “Boom” and “Glitter.” Oh, and who can forget her amazing performance in a Carl’s Jr ad? [Variety]

What do you think? Are glad Padma is branching out, or do you think she should get back in the kitchen?

Padma Lakshmi, host of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” knows food. She’s the author of a cookbook on spicy cooking, but this new ad for Carl’s Jr., in which Padma facef**ks a Western Bacon Burger, is no doubt hotter than anything she makes in the kitchen. Who cares if Tom Collichio would rather eat cow dung? But this hardly the first time Carl’s Jr. has used sex to sell cheeseburgers. Keep clicking for more…