THE Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, or “Fergie” to the rest of us, is joining the ranks of daily talk show hosts.

A one-hour syndicated show, “Fergie,” will launch in September 2003 and will be produced by Universal Television Enterprises for a weekday morning or afternoon slot.

“It will be a new take on daytime TV – think ‘Rosie’ meets ‘Oprah,’ ” said Amy Rosenblum, who will executive-produce the show with Fergie.

“We want to do something different and didn’t want to do a full variety show,” Rosenblum said. “There will be no rules. We’re coming in at the right time, with Rosie [O’Donnell] going away, and we’re going to do everything. We won’t be chained to the studio.

“She’s so multi-faceted and she’s everything daytime TV is about,” Rosenblum said. “She’s got this amazing curiosity and she sparkles – she’s larger-than-life.

“We were out taping on the street yesterday on Fifth Avenue and there was a crowd of about 400 people gathered around – and Fergie talked to everyone.”

Rosenblum said Fergie won’t have a sidekick – “She doesn’t need a sidekick” – although there could be an announcer, as well as musical guests (but no “house band”) and the format will likely include a “man-on-the-street”-type segment.

The show will be taped here in New York, with a schedule allowing Fergie to jet back to England to spend time with her daughters, Beatrice, 13, and Eugenie, 12.