Reality Rumors

A representative for JPMorgan Chase says a 30-day hold has been put on the foreclosure of a Lake City, Ga., “Extreme Makeover” house.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the hold was activated to allow Milton and Patricia Harper the opportunity to negotiate a deal so they can stay current with their payments.

The couple’s family was presented with the new 5,300-square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bathroom house on “Extreme Makeover” in 2005. They were chosen from among thousands of applicants for the show because they said their septic tank flooded the basement, forcing the family to sleep in their van.

The house, which the Harpers used as collateral for a $450,000 loan to fund a construction business, had been scheduled to hit the auction block Tuesday, the newspaper said.

However, JPMorgan Chase spokeswoman Christine Holevas told the Journal-Constitution a 30-day hold has been granted and an agreement is expected to be signed in the next few days.

“We’re confident the Harpers will stay in their home,” she said.

The newspaper said the Harpers did not returns phone calls seeking comment.

Celebrity designer Ty Pennington is helping plan and build a donated playground to P.S. 72, a Harlem elementary school.

The host of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Wednesday unveiled “Project Playground,” a community-centered initiative he is working on with Shire, a drug company that manufactures medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The former “Trading Spaces” carpenter is a spokesman for Shire and often talks about how ADHD has impacted his life.

Pennington and Shire initiated the project after discovering P.S. 72, which has more than 600 students, had no playground equipment to use during recess and after school.

“So many of my childhood memories are about having fun with friends on the playground at recess and after school and playing sports, too. I know that kids, especially those who have ADHD, need to stay active, and ‘Project Playground’ will leave these students with an awesome place where they can use their energy and channel their abilities in school and after school,” Pennington said in a statement.

“I know, firsthand, the importance of understanding and treating ADHD, and believe that there may be kids out there with ADHD who could benefit from the same kind of support.”

TV Land has announced that it has acquired the off-network rights to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition reality series.

TV land will begin airing episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on August 7 in the show’s regular time slot of Tuesdays at 11PM ET/PT.  Extreme Makeover: Home Edition premiered on ABC in 2003, and it has ranked No. 1 in its Sundays at 8PM timeslot for four seasons in a row in the Adults 18-49 demographic.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is the perfect complement to TV Land’s strategy of superserving Baby Boomers, the first generation to grow up alongside television,” said TV Land president Larry W. Jones. “The show’s central theme of giving back to society is a quality Boomers appreciate and the fact that each episode comes complete with a happy ending is a device the TV Generation has come to expect from TV viewing.”

According to TV Land, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will help the network continue its attempts to draw Baby Boomer viewers, its target demographic.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” star Ty Pennington has apologized to fans for his DUI bust in Los Angeles.

Pennington was booked in an LA jail Saturday.

He told E! Online he made an “error in judgment.” He said his arrest was a “wake-up call.”

Pennington won two Emmy awards as host of the home-improvement show.

In an apology to his fans — and to ABC Television — Pennington said he was sorry for the “embarrassment” he’s caused.