Vanna White extends“ Wheel of Fortune” contract following Pat Sajak's retirement
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Vanna White is taking another spin around the Wheel of Fortune set.
The veteran co-host and puzzleboard extraordinaire's contract has been extended for another two years following longtime host Pat Sajak's retirement announcement. Other new updates include social media correspondent Maggie Sajak, entering her third year as the fan ambassador, headlining "Fan Fridays," a new weekly sweepstake offering more ways for viewers to win cash, merchandise, and more.
Alex Van Wagner will also succeed the recently-retired Robert Ennis as director of the show, which returned for season 41 last week.
White had been amid negotiations in the run up to her official return, where she sought her first pay raise in 18 years. (Though she has received bonuses.) White, who like Sajak has been on the game show for more than four decades, reportedly made about $3 million a year, while Sajak made nearly five times that much. (Sony Pictures Television declined to comment on the alleged disparity.)
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images Vanna White
As for Sajak, he announced his retirement back in June, but said he would remain on as a consultant for three years. "Well, the time has come," Sajak, who's been on the show since its nighttime 1983 debut, said in a statement at the time. "I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride." He promised that he'd "have more to say in the coming months."
Ryan Seacrest has been tapped to replace Sajak.
White told PEOPLE last year that she struggled to envision the game show with different hosts, calling her and Sajak "like Ken and Barbie."
She said, "We've been in everybody's homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters." A show without Sajak, she said, would feel "depressing," adding, "I don't even want to think about it."
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