The episodes of Wheel of Fortune that are currently airing in syndication this week feature Vanna White hosting the show for the first time in the 37 years she has been part of the long-running program — an experience the hostess described as “fun,” but “uncomfortable.”
“It was good,” she told Us Weekly. “It was different. It was fun. But I’m glad he’s back. … I learned that I was very uncomfortable doing it and agreeing to do it because it was just so out of my comfort zone, but I learned that I could step up to the plate if I had to.”
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White filled in for the show’s usual host, Pat Sajak, while he recovered from emergency surgery to correct a blocked intestine, and White revealed that hosting the show was never in her plan.
“I have never even thought of hosting the show,” she said. “Never crossed my mind. But obviously, I stepped in, took one for the team to fill in for him because I’m very familiar with the show after all these years. And our executive producer thought I was the perfect person to do that in his absence.”
One thing she did enjoy was getting to interact with the contestants. “I was able to mingle with the contestants, which I never get to do when I’m touching letters,” White shared. “So it was a nice little camaraderie between the contestants and myself. It’s like you kind of become close to them in a sweet way. You’re pulling for each and every one of them, and they’re nice, and they’re nervous, and they’re excited, and they’re happy. So it was kind of a little touching moment with me and the contestants.”
White will continue to host the show solo for the next two weeks, then another week in January following a string of pre-taped episodes over the holidays hosted by Sajak. Her stint as host caused a major reaction online, something the 62-year-old admitted she was “a little bit” surprised by.
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but I think [that] when you’ve seen something for 37 years, and all of a sudden, there’s a change, you’re curious,” she said.
Many viewers appreciated the fact that White, as a woman, was hosting the show solo, something White said she “absolutely” wants to see more of.
“I think anybody that wants to do something like that should,” she said. “I don’t have a preference, male or female. I think that we’re all entitled to whatever position we want. So, go for it, if you feel like it.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Michael Tullberg
