Wendy Williams interview with new talk show on WAGA-TV July 13

In New York for years, Wendy Williams was known as that city's sassy girlfriend on the radio, loud and proud and not afraid to confront celebrities if need be.

Now she’s got her own syndicated talk show, which debuts on the local Fox affiliate WAGA-TV at 10 a.m. Monday.

“I come with a built-in audience,” she said late last month during a stop at WAGA studios. (The show will also air on BET at 11 p.m.)

Her show, tested last summer in six markets (but not Atlanta), got plenty of buzz and good ratings. Her gabby forthrightedness was mocked by Joel McHale on "The Soup." (This year, she said, "I don't know if he'll be watching me. I'll be watching him to see if he's watching me. I'm a fan!")

Gene McHugh, general manager at WAGA, said she has an "infectious personality. That test run showed she has some real talent. She's very adaptable to radio and TV."

She said she’s been approached to do talk shows before but this production company, Debmar Mercury, agreed to let her be herself. “People wanted to tone down my personality, make my dresses longer or skirts longer. With Debmar Mercury, I’ve been given permission to be me.”

Williams said the show will have three components. First, she’ll do a “hot topics” segment, similar to the one done on “The View.” The difference is Williams just talks to the camera and the studio audience. She’ll then have a guest, followed by an advice segment, something she does on her radio show. She’ll take questions from the studio audience and try to answer by providing her own unique perspective.

During her test run, she said, a woman asked if she should try to adopt after several miscarriages. “I’ve had several miscarriages before little Kev,” Williams said. “She started crying. I started crying. I said you can always be a mother. It’s not just someone who births a child who mothers.”

Though she has a reputation of being a tough interviewer, she said she has matured: “I’m respectful. I’m not mean-spirited. I’m not going to ask questions I’m not willing to answer myself.”

One gimmick she dumped during last year’s test run was a “truth booth,” in which someone would reveal a secret, then reveal themselves. People, she realized, were willing to tell her things on camera without the need of the booth.

She hopes her show is “feel good TV. I’m not a clown by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not buffoonery. It’s not dumbing down.”

In her 20s, she considered herself like Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City.” Parties. Pink martinis. Lots of dates. Plenty of shopping. Now at age 45, she is married with a child. Life, she said, is different.

And the show has great pedigree. Her executive producer Rob Dauber has worked with Rosie O'Donnell, Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey.

"The best thing to do with Wendy is to have people watch her," said Ira Bernstein, co-president of Debmar-Mercury to Broadcasting and Cable. "They just need to see her connect with someone while she's doing an interview or talking to the audience. That's really where she shines."

Here she does a quick video summary of what her show will be like (shot by my fiance Helen Kim):