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When it comes to behind-the-scenes secrets on “Wheel of Fortune,” host Ryan Seacrest is not afraid to spill.
During a recent interview in promotion of the beloved show’s 43rd season, Seacrest — who took over hosting duties for Pat Sajak last year — shared how the show creates the clicking sound viewers hear when a contestant spins the wheel. The on-set secret even surprised co-host Vanna White.
“Do you know the clicking sound? There are rubber bands — like you used to have with orthodontia on your teeth — that’s what makes the clicking,” Seacrest told “Good Morning America” on Sept. 5.
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Ryan Seacrest revealed a behind-the-scenes secret on “Wheel of Fortune.” (Getty Images)
“Do you know I never knew that?” White admitted.
“Well, welcome to season 43!” Seacrest responded.
Sajak’s retirement in 2024 marked an end to 42 years of hosting the show. Weeks after his announcement, Seacrest was officially named as his replacement. White later signed a contract that will keep her on the show through the 2025-2026 season.
The popular game show first premiered on television in 1975. Sajak started hosting in 1981, with White joining him the following year.
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The “Wheel of Fortune” set piece has a hidden trick behind its signature clicking sound. (Instagram)
Sajak became one of the most beloved television hosts in game show history, with one expert previously telling Fox News Digital his appeal is “like humidity. You can’t see it, but you can certainly feel it.”
“Sajak embodies everything you would want in a host — calm, charismatic, clean-cut and very likable,” Doug Eldridge, founder of Achilles PR, continued. “He managed banter with contestants, while celebrating them in victory and consoling them in defeat. He did so with a small smile and a big heart.”
Ryan Seacrest joins longtime “Wheel of Fortune” co-host Vanna White, who extended her contract through the 2025-26 season. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for CBS Media Ventures / Sony Pictures Television)
“It was a perfect storm in a lot of ways,” Eldridge said. “Timing, tempo and teamwork. When you look at the timing, game shows reached their zenith in the 1960s and 70s … the timing [of Sajak and White’s takeover] was like the last few clicks at the top of the roller coaster climb, when it comes to American viewing habits.”
For this season’s “Year of Fun!,” the game show will be amping up the excitement in the studio and for viewers at home with more tournaments, bigger prizes, and extra opportunities to win, according to a press release.
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“Ryan brings his charm, warmth and playfulness into his interactions with the contestants and co-host Vanna White, and that has resonated with our viewers,” the show’s executive producer, Bellamie Blackstone, said in the release. “A big part of the success we saw last season can be credited to these many wonderful moments, so we decided to embrace it, and make ‘The Year of Fun’ the season 43 theme.”