‘Wheel of Fortune’ Hostess Vanna White Reveals Pat Sajak Is ‘Feeling Great’ Following Emergency Surgery

After undergoing emergency surgery this past November for an intestinal blockage, Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White has revealed her co-star and game show host, Pat Sajak is “feeling great” and on the road to recovery. In an interview with Closer Weekly, White shared how Sajak has been feeling and the progress he has made since the procedure.

“He’s feeling great! He is back to work,” the 62-year-old TV personality told Closer Weekly exclusively. “He’s already shot 12 shows and we’ll be shooting again this Thursday and Friday. So he’s back to normal, I’m happy to say!” In the days following the surgery, White was then tapped to host in his absence, taking over for a few episodes that aired earlier this week.

“I was just myself. Pat is a very funny guy and I certainly don’t have his sense of humor,” Vanna said of her time as host. “So I basically just wanted to get through the shows and I wanted the contestants to feel comfortable and just kind of wanted to lead them the right way through the show. So I really have nothing to compare it to. I was just kind of going by the seam of my pants. What you see is what you get!”

“I just — you know. It was what it was. I couldn’t copy Pat because truthfully, I’m up there on puzzle board thinking about the letters,” she went on to say. “I’m not paying attention to what he’s saying or doing up there.”

Regarding how her time as host has been received, White said she was getting some “great feedback” over the appearance from fans. “It was very hard for me to watch because I don’t know, I think people don’t like to see themselves in pictures or to see themselves in videos or whatever, so it was kind of hard to watch because I was very nervous doing the show,” she said. “But I did it and again, the feedback has been great and the fans have been very supportive so that makes me feel good.”

White previously revealed to Vulture that she had very little time to prepare for hosting the iconic game show, as she was only given a 30 minute notice.

“P-A-N-I-C. Panic is the word that comes to mind!” she said, recalling how she felt when she was asked. “Our executive producer came up to me and said, ‘Hey, Pat has to go into emergency surgery right now. How would you feel about hosting the show?’ Panic set it at that moment, but I made a quick decision and realized the show must go on. I felt like I had to do it, and I did. I did have a choice, but I didn’t. I had no practice whatsoever. It was just before it,” she said.