‘Jeopardy’s Alex Trebek Names His Dream Successor: Betty White

Beloved Jeopardy host Alex Trebek claims that he has “no say” in his successor, but he’s certainly spent a lot of time thinking on the topic. In a recent interview with TVLine at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Trebek once again insisted that the decision is “up to the people in charge,” despite his 35-year tenure on Jeopardy. However, the Jeopardy legend does have a dream successor in mind: the Queen of Television. “Betty White! Betty White is my choice,” said Trebek.

Earlier this month, Trebek, who is currently battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, made news when he revealed that he will not be involved in choosing his successor, whenever that time may come. During ABC’s What Is Jeopardy!? special, the longtime host previewed his 30-second farewell speech, saying, “I will tell people, ‘Don’t ask me who’s going to replace me because I have no say in that whatsoever. But I’m sure that if you give the them the same love and attention and respect that you have shown me for the past 30-however many years, then they will be a success, and the show will continue being a success.'”

While Trebek is certainly entitled to have some say in the matter, he doesn’t feel that it’s his place to jump into the discussion. “It’s not a decision that would be up to me. And I would not make myself available to presenting an opinion,” he told TVLine after the Jeopardy Greatest of All Time TCA panel. “I would leave it up to the people in charge.”

Jeopardy executive producer Harry Friedman added that Trebek “really has no interest being involved in that process.” He continued, “We would welcome his opinion, obviously, but he feels like it’s really not up to him. And he has said that for a long time.”

Of course, Trebek’s hesitations didn’t prevent him from suggesting a dream pick. “When people ask me who I’d like to see replace me, I say, ‘Well, it’s probably going to be a woman, and she’ll have to be bright, she’ll have to have a good sense of humor,'” he told TVLine. “Uhhhh, let’s see…. Betty White! Betty White is my choice.”

Not a bad pick. After all, the only person with more game show experience than Alex Trebek is probably Betty White.

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