Mario Lopez, People magazine’s Hottest Bachelor of 2008 and new host of Extra!, famously told People that his days of shirtless photoshoots were over … but, by the look of these new photos of Mario at the beach this week filming new scenes for the FX series Nip/Tuck, that declaration does not hold true in all instances. Fortunately for us, Mario has not enacted a shirtless ban on all of his television projects:

My shirtless photo-shoot days are behind me,” Mario Lopez tells PEOPLE in a bitter blow to beefcake. Not that the buff new Extra host has anything to hide. “Obviously, being healthy and staying fit are important to me,” says the 34-year-old, who in the past seemed like the only serious rival to Matthew McConaughey in the bare-chest sweepstakes … “My TV projects are my main priority,” he says. “And no, you will never see me host Extra without a shirt.” Still, to every rule there’s an exception – in this case, Nip/Tuck. Lopez says he is “thrilled” to be reprising the role of Dr. Mike Hamoui on the cable series, with Dr. Mike moving to Los Angeles – where he can once again gain the attention of the ab-admiring Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) in the locker room. “A small spoiler,” says Lopez. “Dr. Mike might not be taking anymore showers at the gym with Christian, but he will lose his shirt.”

Yes, indeed … he does lose his shirt. After the jump, check out a few more pics of Mario along with his Nip/Tuck co-stars Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh on the beachy set of of the show in Long Beach, CA yesterday afternoon …

It looks like fun. I am a big fan of Nip/Tuck so I’m happy to see that production on the new season has already gotten underway. While I’m bummed that Mr. Lopez will be shying away from showering on the series from here on out, I guess I can’t be too upset since there is bound to be more booty (from other folks) showcased on the series. And, we have these hawt shirtless scenes to look forward to. Woot!

[Photo credit: X17; Source]