E! Locks David Burtka Into Talent Deal

E! is adding Neil Patrick Harris' long-time partner to its stable of talent.

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The celebrity-centric network has locked David Burtka into a talent deal. Under the pact, he will serve as correspondent for E! News, as well as Live from the Red Carpet and other E! specials. He will begin his duties in January.

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For E! News, Burtka will conduct celebrity interviews and cover pop culture events and breaking news. The latter is part of a growing intitiave under chairwoman Bonnie Hammer to be a bigger player in the competitive breaking news landscape.

Burtka brings with him an impressive colleciton of industry relationships, as well as a background in acting. The trained chef, who owns a Los Angeles based catering company, Gourmet M.D., has appeared in such shows as How I Met Your Mother, Steven Spielberg’s On The Lot, and Crossing Jordan. He made his Broadway debut in Edward Albee's The Goat opposite Sally Field, followed by his acclaimed role as Tulsa in Sam Mendes’ Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters.

On Sunday, he performed with Harris at Trevor Live, a show benefiting the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to the LGBT community under the age of 24.