ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — 'Jeopardy!' fans, there's a doctor in the house!
Dr. Mehmet Oz will start his two-week stint as guest host of the iconic game show on Monday. The 60-year-old has hosted his own daytime talk show since 2009. Dr. Oz had a long medical career before Oprah Winfrey brought him onto her show as a medical expert.
"Never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be able to come on this stage and host the show," Dr. Oz said in a YouTube interview after he was announced as a guest host. "'Jeopardy!' takes it to a whole new level. It’s just special. It’s iconic in the psyche of America."
Dr. Oz says he got advice from 'Jeopardy!' executive producer Mike Richards, who also guest hosted two weeks' worth of episodes.
"Be yourself, be in the moment, connect with the guests," Dr. Oz said of Richards' advice. "If you do that, the rest will happen."
Dr. Oz's first episode will not be seen on 10 Tampa Bay at its scheduled time of 7:30 PM Monday due to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. His remaining nine episodes will air each weeknight through April 2.
Dr. Oz follows Ken Jennings, Richards and Katie Couric as 'Jeopardy!' guest hosts. The show has also announced Aaron Rodgers, Anderson Cooper, Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Bill Whitaker and Mayim Bialik as upcoming guest hosts. A permanent host is yet to be named following the death of longtime emcee Alex Trebek last November at age 80.
Each guest host on the show gets to pick a charity they support. 'Jeopardy!' then makes a donation to the non-profit once the host's two weeks are up. Katie Couric recently picked Stand Up To Cancer. Dr. Oz chose HealthCorps.
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