Report: Insiders Express Concern For 'Always On' Ryan Seacrest

Known as the hardest-working man in show business, Ryan Seacrest rarely takes a day off. So when he took an unscheduled one from co-hosting “Live” with Kelly Ripa on May 18, there was cause for alarm at the show’s network.

An ABC source told The NYPost that some members of the show’s production team were made aware of Seacrest’s absence less than 30 minutes before they were to go live on air.

“It was a last-minute thing and there was a sense of panic at ABC when we were told that Ryan couldn’t make it that morning,” the ABC source ­revealed.

Just hours earlier, the 45-year-old had prompted serious fears for his health during the “American Idol” ­finale — when, while broadcasting from his Los Angeles home, he struggled with words, seemed confused and had a visibly droopy right eye.

The next morning, when Seacrest had to bow out, Ripa’s actor-husband, Mark Consuelos, was able to quickly step in alongside his wife at their ­vacation house on the Caribbean island of Mustique.

“Live” is set to go on a weeks-long scheduled hiatus next month, and sources close to Seacrest and within ABC say the timing couldn’t be better.

Seacrest has been spread thin, by choice, for a long time. Not only does he co-host “Live” every weekday, he also has a syndicated radio show, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest,” which runs for five hours Monday to Friday, as well as the weekly “American Top 40” music-radio countdown program.

He hosts “American Idol” and various specials — including two recent Disney Sing-A-Longs and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” — as part of his multimillion-dollar three-year deal with ABC. He hosts E!’s awards-show red carpet coverage, as well as contributing to the same for ABC.

According to a friend, his on-air breakdown is likely a culmination of years of workaholic tendencies catching up with him.

“People underestimate just how much work Ryan puts in every day. [Right now,] he wakes up at 4 a.m., has producer meetings by 5 a.m. and has to be ready to film at 6 a.m. LA time as ‘Live’ goes on air at 9 a.m. EST. Add the radio show ­every day, in addition to hosting “Idol” and additional content for his platforms,” said the friend. “He has definitely had to adjust his body clock.

“While some of us can turn off or take a break throughout our workday, he almost always has a camera on him or a microphone in his hand. He’s always on.”