Television

Ryan Seacrest says his ‘heart is pounding' in behind-the-scenes video from his 1st day at ‘Wheel of Fortune'

Seacrest will take over from Pat Sajak, who led the show since 1981.

Ryan Seacrest is rarin’ to go.

The multimedia personality began work as the new host of “Wheel of Fortune,” posting highlights from his first day on the job July 16 on Instagram.

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“A glimpse of my first day at @wheeloffortune, and I’m still spinning with excitement!” he captioned the clip.

The video begins with Seacrest spinning the wheel a few months ago, with him calling the sound it makes “iconic.”

“I find it soothing,” he says.

The video then fast-forwards to his first official day as host, where he walks on the set and meets someone who appears to be a staffer.

“My heart is pounding,” Seacrest says about getting to work. “I’m so excited.”

He then walks onto the show’s soundstage and approaches the wheel, which he says is “maybe smaller than you think.”

He steps up and gives the wheel a spin, cheering like any contestant would.

“You know, I could not sleep last night. I was so excited. I slept OK, but still very excited for the alarm to go off,” he later says.

Seacrest then walks around backstage, marveling at various artifacts from the show, including a cardboard cutout of his predecessor, Pat Sajak, with Seacrest noting that Sajak is taller.

The video then cuts to Seacrest outside where he jumps for joy while holding a canvas bag and some notebooks before he skips away, as the words “to be continued” in the “Wheel of Fortune” font appear on the screen.

Seacrest was announced as Sajak’s replacement in June 2023 after Sajak spent more than four decades on the show, with the veteran host’s final episode airing this past June, although he will return this fall on “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.”

“My version will be the version that is,” Seacrest told Willie Geist in September 2023 on Sunday TODAY’s “Sunday Sitdown.” “The game works. All you want to do is walk in and say, ‘Good evening,’ grab your devices and, ‘Here’s the first puzzle.’”

Seacrest also gushed about Sajak’s track record in honor of Sajak's final episode.

“Pat, congratulations on an incredible run with Wheel of Fortune!” he wrote on Instagram. “Your dedication, charm, and wit have made the show a beloved part of American television for decades.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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