Vanna White is back on “Wheel of Fortune” after COVID absence
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V-nn- Wh-t- -s b-ck -n Wh--l -f F-rt-n-.
Buy some vowels and solve the puzzle for good news: Vanna White is back on Wheel of Fortune.
Following her weeklong absence from the enduring game show due to illness, the iconic tile-turner makes her return to Wheel with Monday's episode.
White contracted COVID-19 back in August, causing her to miss out on taping a week's worth of episodes while she recovered. Her duties for those five episodes were fulfilled by 2023 California Teacher of the Year recipient Bridgette Donald-Blue — an apt replacement, as Wheel was celebrating Teacher's Week.
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Vanna White
Longtime Wheel host Pat Sajak addressed White's absence at the beginning of Teacher's Week, saying, "You'll notice Vanna is not here, and I have to say that Ms. White has tested positive for COVID. That's the bad news. The good news is I talked to her just a little while ago and she feels fine. She has a little sniffle. But she tested positive and that's the way it goes, so she will not be with us here this week."
White was only absent for one day of filming over the summer, as production was able to work around her illness. But since the teachers had already arrived in Los Angeles for Teacher's Week, production on last week's episodes couldn't be delayed.
White has only missed filming the series on three prior occasions, according to TVLine, and hadn't previously missed an episode since 1991.
Although White is now back at the puzzleboard, Wheel of Fortune will soon enter a period of transition, as Sajak is set to retire at the end of this season. Ryan Seacrest will replace him as Wheel's host, and said in a previous statement, "I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White."
White's presence will provide some continuity to the upcoming seasons without Sajak as host (though he's also sticking around as a consultant for three years). She's been with Wheel for more than 40 years, and recently extended her contract to stay on through the 2025-26 season. According to Deadline, the new contract comes with a "significant salary increase," which seems overdue in light of reports that she hadn't received a pay raise in 18 years.
Earlier this year, White competed against Jeopardy hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik in an episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. She didn't win, but raised $30,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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