All-time “Jeopardy!” great and show host Ken Jennings has said he was caught “off guard” by the removal of co-host Mayim Bialik from the nightly podium.
Jennings and Bialik had been splitting duties before the “The Big Bang Theory” actor told fans earlier this month that Sony show producers opted for Jennings to helm the show full-time.
“It took me off guard, because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m gonna miss her,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Tuesday. “I can’t speak to her decision-making process or her opinions about it,” he said in his first public comments since news broke about Bialik’s departure.
Sony Pictures Television said the move was made to “maintain continuity for our viewers” but left the door open for Bialik to possibly work on prime time specials in the future.
Before taking the front-facing “Jeopardy!” gig, Jennings, 49, had served as a consulting producer.
“But on my end, I’m just a fan of ‘Jeopardy!’ and I’m always delighted to host when they call upon me,” he told the trade publication. “I just feel extremely lucky to have even been considered for this job as a non-broadcaster.”
The show had long been hosted by Alex Trebek before the beloved Canadian broadcaster passed away from cancer on Nov. 8, 2020.
Following the short, controversial run of EP-turned-host Mike Richards, producers announced last summer they’d be going with Bialik and Jennings in what appeared to be a long-term arrangement.
Jennings won 74 consecutive games in 2004 and is generally considered the venerable show’s greatest player.
Bialik, 48, broke into Hollywood in the early 1990s with her lead role on the NBC sitcom “Blossom.” She juggled her career and academics in the early 2000s earning bachelor and doctorate degrees in neuroscience from UCLA.
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
