Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek looks better than ever as he returns in season 37 premiere during stage IV cancer battle
JEOPARDY! host Alex Trebek is feeling good and looking great as he gets back to hosting the game show.
The 80-year-old host has been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer since last year.
In a clip on Good Morning America, Alex said he felt excited to be back for another season of Jeopardy! especially given the coronavirus pandemic.
"I feel good, and I feel excited because once again 'Jeopardy!' has demonstrated that it's at the forefront of television programming," Alex in the clip
"I believe we are the first quiz show to come back on the air in the COVID-19 era. On a personal level, I'm excited because it gets me out of the house. It gives me something to do on a regular basis, and I was missing that."
The show has introduced special measures to protect staff and contestants from the coronavirus, including running casting sessions online.
Jeopardy! will also welcome back Ken Jennings, a 74-time champion and newly crowned Jeopardy! GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
Ken is joining as a consulting producer and told GMA that he will "present his own special video categories, develop projects, assist with contestant outreach, and serve as a general ambassador for the show."
The look into the new season comes after he revealed he would stop his current treatment for stage four pancreatic cancer if the latest round chemotherapy fails.
The legendary gameshow host admitted that he’s struggling with the side effects of the treatment, including pain that keeps him awake at night.
Alex, who turned 80 on July 22, has vowed to keep making the beloved show for as long as he can, but does worry that his performance will suffer as he copes with speech problems.
The star, who has hosted Jeopardy! since 1984, is “currently doing well,” according to his rep who told People magazine.
With comments that are likely to break thousands of hearts, Alex said: “Yesterday morning my wife came to me and said, ‘How are you feeling?’ And I said, ‘I feel like I want to die.’
“It was that bad.”
Speaking with the New York Times, Alex went on to say that if his latest round of chemotherapy isn’t successful, he will stop treatment.
He continued: “There comes a time where you have to make a decision as to whether you want to continue with such a low quality of life, or whether you want to just ease yourself into the next level. It doesn’t bother me in the least.”
The 79-year-old has been working from his LA home over the past several months of lockdown and revealed it has boosted his strength.
Alex said: “It’s the strangest thing. It is some kind of an elixir.”
Since the COVID-19 lockdown, Alex has taped the introductions to many yet-unaired episodes of the popular quiz show.
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