"LETTERMAN MAKES HIS OWN TOP TEN LIST"

After years of classic zingers aimed at the secret boudoir antics of celebrities, sports figures and politicians comes a major flub from the other side of the mike. Late-night show host David Letterman joins the ranks of the terribly tarnished making headlines when a plot to extort $2 million was made public.

Letterman opened the show with his usual monologue expressing regret at his behaviour involving sexual encounters with female staff members of his show. A sympathetic audience laughed as he tried to make light of his embarrassing blunder with serious repercussions. He said, "I got into the car this morning and the navigation lady wasn't speaking to me. Ouch." Yes, it was damage control at its finest and whom better to make this formal admission that the man himself.

Robert 'Joe' Halderman, a CBS News producer for the show '48 Hour Mystery' was behind the alleged extortion plot and was in deep financial debt. Halderman lived with Stephanie Birkitt, an ex-assistant on Late Night, when he found her diary describing her relationship with Letterman. More women have since come forward also claiming their involvement with the late night show host.

Fellow late-nighters didn't waste a moment to use Letterman's indiscretions to their advantage. Jay Leno opened with, "If you came here tonight for sex with a talk show hist, you've got the wrong studio." And the zingers kept coming with Jimmy Fallon taking advantage of the situation mid-way through his monologue with, "There's a new book out called 'Why Women Have Sex' that was a list of 237 reasons why women have sex, and Letterman knows the top ten." Oh that's gotta hurt!

I don't think this will be going away any time soon. Meantime, Letterman has some serious 'splainin' to do with the little misses who may not be so forgiving. So the man whose humour is his bread and butter is sitting in the hot seat (and in the dog house). Letterman may have been a hypocrite in the past but now suddenly belongs to an elite club of 'getting caught with your pants down' cast of characters. Eliot Spitzer, A-Rod and Hugh Grant are probably sporting a devilish grin knowing Dave will be making his own 'Top Ten List'. Now that's what I call hitting the big leagues!