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Vanna White Admits It Was ‘Scary’ to Host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ But She’s ‘Getting Great Feedback’
She recently was handed the very important task of filling in for Pat Sajak as host of Wheel of Fortune, and while it has been a little tough, Vanna White recently revealed that she’s received nothing but positive words.
“It did get easier as the shows went on,” the 62-year-old exclusively told Closer Weekly. “I wasn’t able to rehearse a lot before I [took over] because it happened suddenly. 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.” Vanna took over for her longtime pal, 73, while he recovered from emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage — she will be at the helm for three weeks.
“You know, I’m getting some great feedback,” Vanna — who has been named the Godmother of Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, Carnival Panorama — continued. “It was very hard for me to watch because I don’t know, 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. 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!”
While Pat wasn’t able to give the TV personality any advice before taking over for him temporarily, there were plenty of other people supporting the film actress. “I have to tell you the staff and crew were there, our executive producer. Everybody was one round at a time and they definitely helped me out, made me feel comfortable,” Vanna revealed.
On November 12, Vanna opened up about having to fill in for the iconic game show host, saying via Twitter, “‘Wheel of Fortune’ without @patsajak is like a word without vowels. ll fill in the blanks until you return. Rest up and we’ll be solving puzzles in no time. (Don’t worry, your job is safe! Well, pretty safe.)”
It sure has been great seeing Vanna hosting!
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Reporting by Diana Cooper.
