Gretchen Carlson, Miss America 1989 and former news anchor for WRIC-TV 8, has made her way back onto Richmond television screens after a grand and controversial departure from the area nine years ago.

She has joined the roster of CBS’ “Up to the Minute,” the network’s newscast that airs in the wee hours of the morning.

In 1990, Carlson’s presence was considered a coup for the low-rated Channel 8, which hired the former beauty queen to co-anchor its 6 p.m. news. But her tenure was tainted by a nationally publicized, tabloid-style scandal involving a reported affair with her married co-anchor, Kevin McGraw.

While McGraw was let go in the wake of the scandal, Carlson left voluntarily to accept a job at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. Before she left town, a few city luminaries threw her a glitzy, black-tie-optional send-off.

In the subsequent years, Carlson climbed from station to station, working in Cleveland, New York City and the Dallas-Fort Worth area before landing the correspondent gig at CBS. During the past few weeks, Carlson has filled in for vacationing “Minute” anchor Melissa McDermott and served as co-host for the Saturday edition of “The Early Show.”

An assistant for Carlson took a phone call from Style, but when a reporter mentioned he was calling from Richmond, the assistant hung