Alex Trebek Has ‘No Plans’ to Retire From ‘Jeopardy!’ Anytime Soon, Coworker Says

Alex Trebek may be in the midst of a tragic battle with cancer, but the Jeopardy! host reportedly has “no plans” to retire from the iconic game show anytime soon, according to a coworker. PEOPLE reports that an unidentified employee of Jeopardy! told CTV News in October, “He has no plans to quit, and is absolutely not announcing his retirement [anytime soon].” In the past, Trebek himself has also commented on the notion of leaving the show, at one point saying, “We’ll play it by ear and keep chugging along until we either win or lose.”

Trebek first shared the unfortunate news of his cancer diagnosis back in March, at the time vowing that he would not be leaving the show for the time being.

“Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you and it’s in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fan base. I also wanted to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health. So therefore, I wanted to be the one to pass along this information,” Trebek’s statement began.

“Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he continued. “Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”

“Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years! So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done,” his statement concluded. “Thank you.”

Earlier in December, Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White — who is friends with Trebek — offered an update on the Jeopardy! host’s health, telling Us Weekly, “He’s doing good. He really is. He looks good. I talked to him recently and he’s got a very positive attitude.”

“I love that he’s honest and open with his fans, because he’s been doing the show for a very long time also and feels very connected to all of his fans and viewers,” she later added. “He is definitely keeping everybody updated on how he’s doing, and I am so proud of him. He’s still working, he’s obviously doing chemotherapy but working through it, and has that strong will to, as we say, the show must go on.”

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