Whoopi Goldberg has set her sights on taking over the role of Wheel Of Fortune presenter after Pat Sajak, 76, announced his retirement.
On Monday, Pat, 76, confirmed his plans to step back from the show after more than four decades.
On The View on Wednesday, talk turned to who would host Wheel Of Fortune as the panel welcomed Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings as a guest.
Joy Behar revealed: ‘Whoopi wants the job’, to which the actress, 67, replied: ‘I want that job. I think it would be very nice’.
Joy then joked that she and Sara Haines could join the show as letter runners while Whoopi presented.
‘I think it would be fun’: Whoopi Goldberg has her eyes set on taking over as Wheel Of Fortune host after Pat Sajak, 76, announced his retirement
End of an era: On Monday, Pat confirmed his plans to step back from the show after more than four decades
Whoopi is no stranger to game shows. She starred in the 1998 revival of Hollywood Squares and was also a producer for the show through its seven seasons.
While some viewers thought Whoopi would be great for the part, others weren’t convinced.
‘Replaced by Whoopi Goldberg! NOT Ryan Seacrest, he is over the top. Vanna is too sweet. Need someone with a sharp edge and humor,” one wrote.
Another added: ‘@RyanSeacrest or Whoopi Goldberg for @WheelofFortune as a replacement for @patsajak is a terrible idea. Give it to John O’Hurley!”
A third viewer said, “If Whoopi Goldberg becomes the new host of Wheel Of Fortune, I will never watch again. Terrible fit.’
Meanwhile, Wheel of Fortune favorite Vanna White would “highly consider” taking over as host.
A source close to White, 66, told DailyMail.com that the show’s co-host is more than ready to take on the task.
“Vanna doesn’t want to leave Wheel of Fortune even after Pat has announced his retirement and she would very much consider taking over his role as host of the show,” the insider revealed.
Mixed reactions: While some viewers thought Whoopi would be great for the role, others weren’t convinced
Next in line? Wheel of Fortune favorite Vanna White would ‘highly consider’ taking over host role from Pat Sajak
The source continued, “Next year is going to be quite a ride and Vanna wants to be a part of it even after he leaves and hopes they don’t force her to leave.”
The TV personality has been co-hosting the long-running game show with Sajak since 1982 and the insider emphasized that the star does not want to stop now.
“Vanna is in it for the long haul,” they added. “If she doesn’t take over Pat’s job when he’s done, she’d like to be part of the selection process for Pat’s replacement, because if it’s up to her, she’s in it forever.”
However, the TV star is prepared for the decision to take her time, as the source added, “Vanna knows they are going to do the same thing they did with Alex Trebek and his replacement and make it a huge task. If Vanna leaves Wheel in a year, it wasn’t her decision.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to White and Wheel of Fortune representatives for comment.
On Monday, Sajak confirmed his plans to retire as the host of the Wheel of Fortune after holding that position for more than four decades.
Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of game shows for Sony Pictures Television, released a statement saying, “As the host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years.
“We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career in the upcoming season.”
Prete said that Sajak had “agreed to continue as an advisor to the show for three years after his senior year as host,” adding, “We’re thrilled to have him stay close to the Wheel of Fortune family!”
Sajak has hosted the night edition of the show with White since 1983. He started hosting the daytime series from 1981, leaving that edition to host his own late night series in 1989. The daytime edition was canceled in 1991.