“Our executive producer came up to me and said, ‘Hey, Pat has to go into emergency surgery right now. Panic is the word that comes to mind!,” White said with a laugh. As she told Vulture in a recent interview, she had only 30 minutes to get her act together before that very first show was taped.
(He’s expected to return at the start of the new year.) White, the patron saint of fabulous evening gowns, who has been turning and tapping those puzzle-board letters for over 37 years, had somehow never been given the chance to host an entire show until now. No amount of consonants and vowels could have prepared us for the delightful surprise of Vanna White’s stepping in to host Wheel of Fortune for the next three weeks - a temporary promotion initiated by Pat Sajak’s taking a leave of absence to undergo emergency surgery.
