All-time "Jeopardy!" great and co-host Ken Jennings has said he was caught "off guard" by co-host Mayim Bialik's removal from the nightly podium.
Jennings and Bialik, the “Big Bang Theory” actor, had been splitting duties before Bialik told fans this month that Sony show producers opted for Jennings to host the show full-time.
"It took me off guard, because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m gonna miss her," he told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Tuesday.
"I can’t speak to her decision-making process or her opinions about it," he said in his first public comments since news about Bialik’s departure broke.
Sony Pictures Television said the move was made to "maintain continuity for our viewers" but left the door open for Bialik to possibly work on prime-time specials in the future.
Before he took the front-facing "Jeopardy!" gig, Jennings, 49, had been a consulting producer.
"But on my end, I’m just a fan of 'Jeopardy!' and I’m always delighted to host when they call upon me," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I just feel extremely lucky to have even been considered for this job as a non-broadcaster."
Alex Trebek long hosted the show before he died from cancer Nov. 8, 2020.
Following the short, controversial run of executive producer-turned-host Mike Richards, producers announced in summer 2022 they'd be going with Bialik and Jennings in what appeared to be a long-term arrangement.
Jennings won 74 consecutive games in 2004 and is generally considered the venerable show's greatest player.
Bialik, 48, broke into Hollywood in the early 1990s with her lead role on the NBC sitcom "Blossom." She juggled her career and academics in the early 2000s, earning a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in neuroscience from UCLA.
