BԪַ

Skip to content

Ryan Seacrest will host BԪַWheel of FortuneBԪַ after Pat Sajak retires next year

Seacrest praised Vanna White, signaled she would remain on the show

The category? BԪַProper Name.BԪַ The answer? Ryan Seacrest, who will become the new BԪַWheel of FortuneBԪַ host after Pat SajakBԪַs retirement next year.

Seacrest and Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that Seacrest has signed a multiyear deal to host the long-running game show starting with Season 42. Sajak the upcoming 41st season would be his last on the show.

ItBԪַs the latest hosting gig for Seacrest, the popular BԪַAmerican IdolBԪַ host who also now rings in the new year for many on BԪַDick ClarkBԪַs New YearBԪַs RockinBԪַ Eve.BԪַ

BԪַIBԪַm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,BԪַ Seacrest said in a statement. BԪַI can say, along with the rest of America, that itBԪַs been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.BԪַ

Seacrest in his statement also praised Vanna White, another mainstay of BԪַWheel of Fortune,BԪַ and signaled she would remain on the show after SajakBԪַs retirement. Both White and Sajak have been on the show since the early 1980s.

BԪַI canBԪַt wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White,BԪַ SeacrestBԪַs statement said. He also said he was looking to learn as much as possible from Sajak during the transition period.

The show tapes in Southern California, where Seacrest also hosts a popular nationally syndicated morning drivetime radio show. In February, Seacrest announced he would BԪַLive with Kelly and RyanBԪַ after six years. Kelly Ripa now hosts that show with her husband Mark Consuelos.

Sajak, 76, has presided over the game show, in which contestants guess letters to try to fill out words and phrases in pursuit of money and prizes, since 1981. He took over duties from Chuck Woolery, who was the showBԪַs host when it debuted in 1975. The show started out as a daytime game show but became a syndicated nightly telecast in 1983, making Sajak and White the main faces of BԪַWheel of FortuneBԪַ for viewers for four decades.

READ ALSO:





(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }