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Vanna White hosts ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for 1st time in show history

Click to play video: 'Vanna White takes over as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host for 1st time'
Vanna White takes over as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host for 1st time
WATCH: Vanna White took the wheel from regular host Pat Sajak, who’s recuperating following abdominal surgery – Dec 10, 2019

Vanna White hosted Wheel of Fortune for the first time on Monday night.

White, 62, hosted the game show by herself for the first time in the show’s history while Pat Sajak is on a temporary medical hiatus.

Sajak had to undergo emergency surgery for a blocked intestine.

READ MORE: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant’s awkward answer stuns crowd into silence

Minnie Mouse took over White’s duties turning the letters, which she has been doing for more than 35 years.

Ahead of the show on Monday night, White tweeted that she was “excited and nervous.”

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Wheel of Fortune shared a video of White spinning the wheel halfway around a full rotation for the final spin.

“That wheel is heavy!” she told the audience.

“Oh no! My first spin, look at that,” she said, thinking she had landed on “Bankrupt.”

The arrow actually landed on “$500” and White said: “Oh no, I’m looking at the wrong arrow! How do you do this show?”

READ MORE: Man on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ says he’s ‘trapped in a loveless marriage’

The episodes were filmed in November while Sajak was recovering from surgery. He thanked his fans for their support in early November.

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“I’m so grateful for all the good wishes during my recent illness,” Sajak tweeted. “Happy to say that the worst has passed, and I’ll be out of the hospital in a day of [sic] two, then back to work (unless @TheVannaWhite has completely taken over!)”

“Wheel of Fortune without @patsajak is like a word without vowels,” White tweeted. “I’ll fill in the blanks until you return. Rest up and we’ll be solving puzzles in no time. (Don’t worry, your job is safe! Well, pretty safe.)”

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On Saturday, Sajak tweeted: “It’s a bit confusing, but here’s the deal: Vanna will be hosting this coming week and the next. Then two weeks of shows I taped before my surgery. Then Vanna again the week of Jan. 6 with a special guest at the puzzle board. Then the planets will realign, and it’s back to normal.”

READ MORE: Man stuns by solving ‘Wheel of Fortune’ puzzle with just one letter revealed

White will also host another week of Wheel of Fortune in early January from the 6th through the 10th.

White filled in once for one segment of the show in 1996 when Sajak had laryngitis.

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