"Wheel of Fortune" host Ryan Seacrest suffered a fall Tuesday when he was knocked down by an enthusiastic contestant who had just won the game show's $40,000 grand prize.
The contestant, Daniel Thomas from Pittsburgh, had to solve a seven-letter puzzle under the "Living Things" category during the intense bonus round. Starting with the standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, E," only "S" and "E" appeared on the puzzle board, according to video shared by the New York Post. With time running out, Thomas blurted out the correct answer, "Guppies," just as the clock hit zero.
Seacrest congratulated him, saying, "Yes! You did it!"
Caught up in the excitement, Thomas rushed over to Seacrest, attempting to give him a hug, but accidentally knocked the host off his feet.
"Oh, my gosh!" Thomas said as he moved to help the host up.
"I'm good, I'm good," Seacrest said with a smile before getting back into his feet and revealing that Thomas had won $40,000.
"Daniel, easy on our host, but celebrate with $40,000" show announcer Jim Thornton told Thomas.
Seacrest joined Vanna White as the host of "Wheel of Fortune" on Sept. 9 after Pat Sajak announced his retirement in June 2023.
"I'm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak," Seacrest wrote in a statement posted on Instagram at the time. "I can say, along with the rest of America, that it's been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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