Vanna White Says WHEEL OF FORTUNE ‘Need[s] Me’
By Movieguide® Contributor
WHEEL OF FORTUNE icon Vanna White knows the game show could do it without her but recently explained why “they need me.”
“I enjoy it. I love coming to work,” White told Parade of her time on WHEEL OF FORTUNE. “I love watching people win. I love changing people’s lives. There’s a lot of stuff on TV that is so dramatic, and this is a half-hour of family fun and escape from so much. It’s such a positive family show. I love being part of that. So I’m not ready to leave.”
She acknowledged that her “role on the puzzle board has changed” over the years.
“When I first started, I had to physically turn every letter,” White explained. “Then they switched to TV monitors, so I just had to touch the letters and they would light up. Now the board is operated by a laser. It’s like a flat screen. And when I go to touch the letter, the laser catches my movement. It’s crazy, right?”
When her interviewer asked, “So if the letters can light up automatically…”
“I’m telling you right now, don’t say it. They need me!” White laughed.
She added, “With all the electronics today, obviously they could do it without me. But people love watching what I’m wearing. I’ve worn over 8,000 outfits. So I think the audience likes to see if I’m wearing red today or blue. Is it going to be elegant or short? Young people think, ‘Could that look be good for a bridal shower?’ My wardrobe is a big part of it.”
Despite her many years on WHEEL OF FORTUNE, White revealed that she does still get nervous.
“I don’t get nervous before a taping. I’ll tell you, though, sometimes I get nervous because I have on really high heels or stilettos,” she shared. “Or sometimes I think, Am I going to trip on my dress? So I wear things that make me nervous.”
White recently dealt with some big changes at WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Ryan Seacrest recently took over for longtime host Pat Sajak, and he shared the advice White gave him before he started his new role.
“She said, ‘Just go out there and have fun and be yourself,’” Seacrest told PEOPLE.
Movieguide® previously reported on Seacrest’s first episode of WHEEL OF FORTUNE:
Seacrest just hosted his very first episode, where he acknowledged how important the role of host is.
“Hosting WHEEL OF FORTUNE is a dream job,” he said during the episode. “I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid, watching in Atlanta with my family, and I know how special it is that WHEEL has been in your living rooms for the past 40 years. I’m just so grateful to be invited in. I also know I’ve got some very big shoes to fill.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vanna White admitted she was “scared” to see what the show would look like without longtime host Pat Sajak.
“I think our chemistry is good,” White said of working with Seacrest. “I had no idea what to expect when I’m used to one person for so long. I was very scared, but he’s doing a great job.”
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