Prime-time newcomer Jay Leno says he would have rather stayed put at "The Tonight Show" -- and if NBC offered him that job again, he'd take it.

In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable magazine published online yesterday, Leno hastily added that such a decision isn't his to make.

Conan O'Brien, his successor as "Tonight" host after 17 years, is "doing fine," Leno said.

"Conan is in the same position I was in when I took over. It takes a while. Some will like it; some will leave forever and not come back."

Leno said he doesn't think the recent controversy surrounding his former late-night rival David Letterman "will have a big effect at all."

Referring to Letterman's acknowledged sexual affairs with female members of his staff, Leno said, "If it were me, it would kill me. I'm the guy who's been married 29 years. But Dave has never pretended to be Mr. Moral America, he's never set himself up that way. He's not a hypocrite."

"The Jay Leno Show" began on NBC in September, airing Monday through Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern, where it has displaced several prime-time scripted dramas. For that, and for his less-than-stellar ratings thus far, Leno has taken heat within the TV industry as well as from critics.

It's just part of the battle, said Leno, who insisted he enjoys it.

"I get a certain amount of satisfaction from pounding my head against the wall," he said. "I'm not having a bad time at 10 o'clock now. I look at this as a job, and now I'm faced with a challenge, and it's a challenge I find difficult but interesting."

Elton John has been hospitalized after suffering from a case of E. coli bacterial infection and the flu, his spokesman said yesterday.

Gary Farrow said the pop star hopes to be released soon but has been forced to cancel concerts in England, Ireland and the United States.

John intends to rejoin the "Face2Face" tour later in the month when he and Billy Joel play concerts in northern California.

Farrow said 62-year-old John is suffering from a "bad case of the flu and a minor case of E. coli." His Web site says he was advised by his doctor to postpone dates in Seattle and Portland.

The Daily Mail's Web site quoted John's partner, David Furnish, as saying "He's OK -- he's fine," after leaving a London hospital.

Farrow says the singer has rescheduled previously canceled dates during the European leg of his world tour.

A French lawyer for Roman Polanski says he has submitted a new bail offer to a Swiss court to try to free the filmmaker from jail.

Lawyer Herve Temime says the offer yesterday includes "adequate guarantees" that Polanski will not flee justice if released. The 76-year-old director is awaiting a decision on extradition to the United States.

Switzerland's Justice Ministry rejected a bail offer Friday, considering Polanski a high flight risk. They noted it was not a cash offer.

Temime said Sunday the new offer would include a "very, very significant" cash amount, butyesterday, he gave no further details.

Polanski, arrested Sept. 26, is wanted in the U.S. for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Polanski fled the U.S. before sentencing.

A judge granted "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest a temporary restraining order against a man arrested on suspicion of stalking the radio and television host outside his workplace Friday, court records show.

Seacrest's attorneys obtained the stay-away order hours after they say Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr. was detained at the E! Entertainment Television headquarters in Los Angeles.

The filing claims Uzomah was carrying a knife and was trying to see the popular television and radio host.

Uzomah, 25, is on probation for another incident involving Seacrest. Court records show he pleaded guilty in Orange County, Calif., last month to three misdemeanors: carrying a switchblade knife, assault and battery. Uzomah was charged after he attacked one of Seacrest's bodyguards outside an event.

"His aggressive and violent efforts to come into physical contact with me are extremely frightening to me," Seacrest wrote in a declaration filed Friday. "They have jeopardized not only my personal safety, but also the safety and well-being of those around me."

Police said Ozomah was arrested and booked on suspicion of stalking. Jail records showed he remained in police custody Friday evening, held on $150,000 bail.

A court hearing on whether to grant a three-year stay-away order against Uzomah will be held on Nov. 17.

It's a boy for Mary Stuart Masterson and husband Jeremy Davidson, her rep tells People.com.

The actress, 43, delivered a son on Oct. 11. Further details are unavailable at this time.

The baby boy is the first child for the couple, who met during a 2004 production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and married in 2006. They announced the pregnancy in May.

Mackenzie Carpenter's video program, "Omnivore," is available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.