Ryan Seacrest talks “out of body” experience working with Vanna White on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White are excited and gearing up to work alongside each other on Wheel of Fortune.

“I mean, it’s Wheel of Fortune. How could you not be happy?” Seacrest told ABC News’ Ginger Zee in an interview that aired Tuesday on Good Morning America.

White added, “It’s energetic, it’s positive, it’s fun. I’m so excited.”

It was announced in June 2023 that Seacrest would take over Pat Sajak‘s decadeslong role as co-host of the iconic show. Seacrest begins his new role as the co-host of “Wheel of Fortune” this fall for the show’s 42nd season.

Seacrest opened up about his experience working with White, who has been co-hosting the show with Sajak since 1982.

“I mean, it’s out of body,” Ryan tells GMA. “It’s out of body for me, you know, to have watched Vanna, and watched this show and Pat, and what they’ve built with audiences across this country. And what this show means to people in their living rooms every night, and their families, and generations of people who have watched this show, it is a very special thing that just doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

As part of his preparation to take the reins from Sajak, Seacrest said he has “watched endless episodes of Pat and Vanna on Wheel of Fortune.”

“We have played mock Wheel of Fortune games in many cities across America, depending on where I am, on conference tables, in meeting rooms,” he shared. “We’ve had makeshift wheels and makeshift contestants for months, just to sort of get the gameplay down, and the time and the pacing down. And hopefully it all pays off.”

In July, Seacrest shared a Reel on Instagram from his first day on the Wheel of Fortune set, which was recorded earlier in the year.