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Vanna White has signed a contract that will extend her tenure as co-host of Wheel of Fortune for two more years, meaning that she’ll still be on the beloved game show through at least the end of its 2025-2026 season.
The news comes just three months after Wheel of Fortune’s host, Pat Sajak, announced his retirement from the show. In late June, it was revealed that Ryan Seacrest would be Sajak’s successor, and will take the helm of the show after the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season. Now, we know that Seacrest and White will appear on the show together for at least two years.
Though this is the first confirmation of White’s contract having been extended, Seacrest did indicate that he and White would be appearing together in a statement he released in June. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years,” Seacrest said. “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”
White has been the co-host of Wheel of Fortune since the daily-syndicated, nighttime version first premiered in 1983, and has become a pop culture icon thanks to her signature grace in revealing the letters which solve the game’s puzzles. When Sajak retires next year, it will mark the end of a historic run for the duo, who are currently the longest-running game show hosts in American TV history. White has even earned the distinction of being named Earth’s most-frequent clapper by Guinness World Records, thanks to her role on the show.
The new, Seacrest-led version of Wheel will still be overseen by the series’ producers, Sony Pictures TV, but will feature some new creative energy. This past summer, director Alex Van Wagner — known for his work on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Masked Singer — replaced longtime director, Robert Ennis, who retired after working on the show for over 30 years.
Beyond her duties on Wheel, White has other ongoing business ventures. Her partnership with Lion Brand Yarns is still going strong, with proceeds from her Vanna’s Choice series going towards St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Meanwhile, earlier this year White signed a deal with BetMGM to lend her likeness as the face of its newly launched Wheel of Fortune Online Casino. Big business, considering that Sony is expected to earn $220 million over the next decade from licensing the rights to Wheel-branded slot machines alone.
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