Nancy O’Dell will miss a lot of things about “Access Hollywood,” but her co-host Billy Bush certainly isn’t one of them.

A source insists that O’Dell’s premature departure from the show, which she appeared on since 1996 (and with Bush since 2004), is because Billy isn’t exactly an ideal co-worker.

“The atmosphere at ‘Access Hollywood’ is like walking on a landmine because of Billy,” the insider dishes. “He throws tantrums and tirades and oftentimes for no apparent reason. It was one of several things that had Nancy at her wit’s end after 13 years.”

And she didn’t go without a fight, either – our source insists she complained numerous times to executive producer Rob Silverstein about Bush’s behavior, but to no avail.

“Nancy was still subjected to Billy’s outbursts and blow-ups on set, just like everyone else was,” the snitch says, adding that Bush’s diva-esque behavior is because he “really wants to be the next Ryan Seacrest.”

“Billy would go so far as to curse out producers for not writing the copy in a way he liked it, and would really go off if they assigned him to read a story that he felt was beneath him.”

So why did he get away with such behavior? Bush and Silverstein are buddies and partners on “The Billy Bush Show,” the syndicated nighttime talk radio show that Bush does on the side – and O’Dell accused Silverstein of playing favorites among the co-hosts, according to the source. At least O’Dell came out on top with one part of the “Access Hollywood” family – she was revered by the show’s crew.

“People gasped at the news and many began to cry,” the insider insists of last Thursday’s staff meeting, when the producers announced that Nancy would be leaving. A rep for O’Dell said: “Nancy’s decision was based solely on her desire to take her career to the next level and is completely amicable.” Reps for Bush and Silverstein didn’t return calls for comment by deadline.

(source)