5 Questions With: Howie Mandel

Howie Mandel might be the busiest man on TV right now. His hit game show, 'Deal or No Deal,' just gave away its first million dollar prize and, in a fun life-imitating-art twist, he'll be hosting this year's Emmys with his fellow Reality TV Host nominees.

If that's not enough Howie for you, starting Sept. 8 you can catch him hosting a new syndicated version of 'Deal or No Deal' (check local listings), which packs all the excitement, energy and heartbreak of the original show into a daytime-friendly 30-minutes every day of the week.

Mandel talked to AOL TV about his new gig, "doing" Emmy co-host Heidi Klum, his dream of big dance numbers and why he loves Paula Deen.

1. What makes the syndicated version of 'Deal' different from the original?
We have models, Tameka and Patricia, so you're still seeing the gorgeousness. All the elements that people tune in for are still there, plus the fact that it's half an hour and there's 22 cases, it moves a lot faster. There's no time for pauses! Each case is manned by a possible contestant, so when one of them is chosen, they all, as a team, coach the fellow player along.

2. And there's only a $500K prize instead of $1 million, right?
You can't put the word "only" in front of a half a million dollars! [Laughs] There's $2.5 million a week up for grabs -- people are taking hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. That's life-changing amounts of money. These are people like you and me -- that could buy a home, get them out of debt, secure a college future for their children. I don't think there's another show on television that can consistently offer that.

3. You're also co-hosting the Emmys this year -- are there any plans for a little stand-up or maybe some impersonations? Can you do Heidi Klum?
I've asked and she said no. [Laughs] No, no plans for [stand-up] -- I think we're going to work together. I'm trying to put together a dance routine. I don't know how much time I'll be spending on stage alone, or if it'll be a team effort throughout, but I'm hoping there's a big dance number. One can only dream!

4. You get a lot of press because of your OCD -- what made you decide to actually start joking about it?
Well, I don't really make light -- it's just a part of who I am. I have issues. I think the biggest issue with issues is not dealing with your issues. You know, I came to it by accident, in being open about it -- I ended up talking about it once on Howard Stern. I was devastated with what the ramifications were. As it turned out, I got approached by a lot of people and got a lot of support and thought, Hey, I'm not the only one.

5. What's your favorite guilty pleasure TV show?
Paula Deen. Here's another issue I'm gonna give you -- I have high cholesterol. I figure she could kill me in three and a half minutes. [Laughs] [In his best Paula Deane impersonation:] "What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna fry the butter, and then I'm gonna cover it with margarine and some lard. And I'm gonna take the lard and I'm gonna dip that in oil, and then cover that in chocolate." [Laughs] Watching Paula Deen goes right to my hips. [Laughs]