Ryan Seacrest named ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host after Pat Sajak retires

Ryan Seacrest will take over as the next host of “Wheel of Fortune” following the exit of longtime host Pat Sajak at the end of the upcoming season.

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In a post Tuesday on Instagram, Seacrest said he was “truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak.”

“I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White,” he wrote.

Sajak, 76, announced earlier this month that the 41st season of “Wheel of Fortune” will be his last.

“It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months,” Sajak said in a statement on June 12. “Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”

Ravi Ahuja, chairman of global television studios at Sony Pictures, confirmed Seacrest as the next pick to host “Wheel of Fortune” in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

“We are ecstatic to have Ryan as the next host of Wheel of Fortune,” the statement read. “Ryan loves Wheel as much as we do and is the perfect person to continue the show’s four-decade success into the future.”

Seacrest recently stepped down from the morning show “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” which he hosted alongside Kelly Rippa for six years, NPR reported.

“Many people probably don’t know this but one of my first jobs was hosting a little game show called ‘Click’ for Merv Griffin 25 years ago so this is truly a full circle moment for me and I’m grateful to Sony for the opportunity,” he said Tuesday.

“Wheel of Fortune” — which was also created by Griffin — has aired since 1975. The game show’s 41st season begins in September.

Seacrest grew up in Dunwoody and watched Channel 2 Action News as a kid. In an interview with Atlanta Magazine in 2003, Seacrest said Channel 2′s John Pruitt was his idol and that he wanted to be in TV or radio someday.

Seacrest graduated from Dunwoody High School in 1992. He studied journalism at the University of Georgia before he left to start his career in the entertainment industry. He returned to UGA in 2016 to give advice to alumni and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

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