Pat Sajak, the longtime host of “Wheel of Fortune,” is the proud father of his daughter Maggie Sajak, who followed in her father’s footsteps and helped host a recent broadcast of “Wheel of Fortune” alongside her dad.
That came during an emotional moment for host Pat Sajak, who got to introduce Maggie to the “Wheel of Fortune” viewer base as she prepares to step into Vanna White’s shoes and temporarily co-host the show alongside Pat Sajak.
Holding back tears as he welcomed her on stage, Pat Sajak said, “Please welcome my daughter Maggie Sajak.” He then added, “I think I’m going to cry.”
And it wasn’t just Pat Sajak who was getting emotional. Maggie Sajak was too, saying, “Me, too! I’m so happy and I have some iconic high heels to fill… I hope to make Vanna proud.”
Vanna White, who Maggie is temporarily replacing, is taking a break from co-hosting “Wheel of Fortune” for the first time in four decades and will appear with other celebrities in competing in the game, participating in “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune: Ultimate Host Night.”
Pat Sajak, explaining the new show, said, “Things are a little different around here tonight. We’ve been on the air with our sister show ‘Jeopardy!’ right next door for decades, but this is the first time that we’ve been able to invite them to ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ to play our game.”
In a sneak peek of the episode shared to Instagram, Pat asked Vanna, “Does it seem strange to see someone else at your puzzle board?” Responding, she said, “It does, it does. But Maggie, thank you so much for filling in for me.” He then added, “I know you’re going to do a great job.” All proceeds from the episode, which will air Wednesday night, will go to charity.
Maggie shared the news that she would be filling in for Vanna White on Instagram on Monday, saying, “Warming up for Wednesday” in the caption of a picture of her in front of the game show’s famous board.
She also promoted her upcoming appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen Monday evening where she was behind the show’s “bar.” Watch that here:
#CelebrityWheelOfFortune’s Maggie Sajak is behind the #WWHL bar tonight at 10PM ET! See you soon! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/MACnaEY0LX
— WWHL (@BravoWWHL) May 9, 2023
But this isn’t the first time that Maggie will appear on “Wheel of Fortune.” Her father has been hosting the show for decades now, and so the 29-year-old country singer’s debut on the game show was as a 1-year-old. Then, she joined Pat Sajak on stage briefly for an episode. Additionally, she filled in for Vanna White’s position as cho-host when White filled in as host for Pat Sajak, who was recovering from surgery.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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