Jeopardy: Ken Jennings chokes up during emotional Alex Trebek tribute

Monday’s episode was first filmed following Trebek’s death

Ken Jennings choked up while giving a moving tribute to Alex Trebek during his first episode as a guest host on Jeopardy!

The Monday (11 January) episode of the quiz show was an emotional one, as it was the first to be filmed in November following the death of long-time host Trebek.

Jennings, a former contestant on the show, is one of a group of guest hosts from “within the Jeopardy! family” to guest host for the rest of the season. He opened his first episode by talking about the legendary presenter.

“Sharing this stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honours of my life,” Jennings said. “Not many things in life are perfect, but Alex did this job pretty much perfectly for more than 36 years, and it was even better up close.

“We were dazzled by his intelligence, his charm, his grace, really, there’s no other word for it.”

His voice cracking mid-sentence, Jennings continued: “Like all Jeopardy! fans, I miss Alex very much and I thank him for everything he did for all of us.

“Let’s be totally clear: No one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek, but we can honour him by playing the game he loved,” he concluded.

Trebek died of stage four pancreatic cancer on 8 November 2020, aged 80. At the time of his death, he was filming his 37th season of Jeopardy!

Last week, an episode of the show aired featuring a poignant message from the late presenter about the importance of kindness and generosity during the pandemic.