Why ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Didn’t Delay Tapings Amidst Vanna White’s Illness

Wheel of Fortune is going on with the show while Vanna White is recovering from Covid-19, and we now have new details on the situation. It was previously reported that Wheel of Fortune producers decided not to delay the “Teacher’s Week” tapings amidst White’s illness, and instead brought in California “Teacher of the Year” Bridgette Donald-Blue to fill in. Now, a source close to the production has explained to TV Line why that choice was made.

According to the insider, “Teachers had already arrived in L.A. to tape the episodes and, with the academic school year starting, it was not feasible to reschedule that day.” The source added, “In keeping with the ‘Teachers Week’ theme… Bridgette Donald-Blue graciously agreed to fill in for Vanna for those five episodes.” However, the insider stated that additional tapings were able to be postponed. This means that White will only be absent for one week of episodes, rather than two weeks.

While they seem to be unrelated, White’s absence comes as she has been in the midst of negotiations to return to the show once current host Pat Sajak exits. It was previously reported that White’s annual Wheel of Fortune salary is one-fifth of Pat Sajak’s, as she makes $3 million a year to his $15 million annual salary. TV Line stated that she is threatening to quit unless Sony TV agrees to more than double her pay to $7.5 million. It’s also been reported that White has not had a pay raise in nearly two decades.

After Sajak announced his planned retirement, rumors began swirling that White was planning to stay with the show, but that she’d hired Freedman to negotiate a new pay raise. A promising update came when it was announced that Ryan Seacrest would be the new host, making over after Sajak’s final season, which will begin later this year. Seacrest wrote a statement about the news, and at the end, he stated, “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”

However, Puck’s Matthew Belloni soon came forward to report that White and Sony TV still had not come to an agreement on her salary. Per TV Line, there had been rumblings at Sony TV that executives might be considering “eliminating” White’s co-host role when Sajak leaves. While Sony TV did not offer any official comment on the reports, TV Line spoke with an unnamed source who alleges that the rumors are inaccurate and that there “is no plan to eliminate Vanna’s role.” The insider stated, “Sony is in active discussions to renew Vanna’s deal beyond her current contract.”