Well, that took a long time.
For 37 years, Vanna White has appeared on "Wheel of Fortune," turning letters as contestants solve puzzles, But she finally got her chance to host the show on Monday in the wake of Pat Sajak's absence. The 62-year-old beauty stepped up as host after Sajak, 73, had to undergo emergency surgery for a blocked intestine, USA Today reported.
White captivated her audience and even had them laughing after spinning the wheel then worrying that she was reading the number incorrectly. "Oh no, I'm looking at the wrong arrow," she said. "How do you do this show?"
White admitted she was nervous. “Oh, my gosh, that’s an understatement,” she said. “I was very nervous,” she said, according to The New York Times.
Audiences have grown to love Sajak and White, who reached a new milestone in May when they celebrated their 7,000th episode of "Wheel of Fortune" together. They are known as a duo and White has only once filled in for Sajak, when he took ill in 1996, but it was for one segment of the show.
Now White will host for three weeks and present the show's "Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway" promotion while Sajak recovers. She will also fill his shoes for a week in January after his illness resulted in a taping being canceled.
"I’ll fill in the blanks until you return," White previously said in a tweet, according to USA Today. "Rest up and we’ll be solving puzzles in no time. (Don’t worry, your job is safe! Well, pretty safe.)"
Sajak, meanwhile, has assured fans that the worst of his illness has passed.
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