Pat Sajak Says Fans Loved Vanna White Hosting 'Wheel of Fortune'

TV personality Vanna White did a great job when she stepped in for Pat Sajak and hosted Wheel of Fortune. The game show host said the show’s fans were so happy that they couldn’t stop gushing about Vanna’s big moment.

“The fact that she did it speaks volumes about her. It would have been very easy for her to say, ‘I’m sorry, this is not what I do,’” Pat told CBS Sunday Morning on March 1. “But the audience was rooting for her and almost proud to see her up there.”

Due to the 73-year-old undergoing emergency surgery for a blocked intestine, Pat couldn’t host the show in December 2019. When the executive producers asked Vanna to take over, she admits she was a little bit “scared.”

“I wasn’t able to rehearse a lot before I [stepped in] because it happened suddenly,” she explained to Closer Weekly in December. “So I didn’t have any experience under my belt, you know. I was just kind of thrown into it. It was a lot to comprehend to carry a show, and I’m a very shy person anyway and don’t really talk a lot. So to have to carry the show was kind of scary.”

The former actress hosted Wheel of Fortune for three weeks, even though she said it was very “hard” to watch herself on TV.

“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,” Vanna admitted. “But I did it and again, the feedback has been great. And the fans have been very supportive so that makes me feel good. And I’m also happy to say that Pat Sajak is back to work now!”