See How Ken Jennings’ Wife Helped Calm His Nerves After His First Days as Interim Jeopardy! Host

Brand-new Jeopardy! episodes air this week with Ken Jennings stepping in as the first in a series of interim guest hosts. Alex Trebek, who hosted Jeopardy for 37 seasons passed away on Nov. 8. The shows went back into production in late November with a series of interim guest hosts.

Taking the reins on such a behemoth, even temporarily, is no easy task. In fact, Jennings shared his feelings in a candid video interview shared today.

“I‘m with the audience. I don’t want to see me out here. I want to see Alex out here. I know exactly how they feel when they see anybody else behind this lectern,” Jennings revealed, seeming genuinely humbled. “But there are tens of millions of people who love this show. We love this show, Alex loved the show. I’m just happy to fill in and help out.”

Jennings, a 74-game champion shared that he called his wife, Mindy, after taping the first five episodes of Jeopardy!. “I’m obviously no Alex Trebek,” he told her.

She wisely reassured her husband saying, “Of course not. But do you think you might stand up to what he did on his first day?” Jennings replied, “Oh. That’s a nice way of looking at it. I haven’t had 37 years of practice.”

Jennings has come a long way since he nervously first appeared on Jeopardy! in its 20th season on June 2, 2004. He would remain as a Jeopardy! champ until Nov. 30, 2004, deep into the show’s 21st season. Jennings holds the all-time record for most consecutive games won (74) and highest winnings in regular-season play ($2,520,700).

Although there’s been no official word from Jeopardy!, The Los Angeles Times, reports that Katie Couric will be the next potential host to step in as an interim guest host.

“I hope they feel that I have a sense of solidarity with them, that I’m rooting for them, that I know how hard it is and how it feels,” Jennings added. “That when I’m impressed, it is genuine because I know what they’re going through.”

With Jeopardy’s! weekly audience of 24 million viewers watching, it’s understandable that Jennings might have cold feet. “I thought I had studied the man and I understood just what a remarkable job he was doing: keeping the game going, mastering his sense that he understood all the clues. Explaining it to the audience. And I thought I understood it all,” said Jennings in the Jeopardy! interview. “And then when I had to do it, I realized he was doing 10 things I wasn’t aware of for every one that I saw. It’s a very demanding job. And he was just the best.”

Tonight, at the beginning of the show Jennings shared his love and devotion to Trebek and how dazzling the late host was. “Let’s be totally clear. No one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek,” Jennings said. “But we can honor him by playing the game he loved.”