‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Mattea Roach Named Her Pick for the Permanent Hosting Gig
Ken Jennings is currently manning the Jeopardy! podium as record-breaking champ Mattea Roach continues her double-digit winning streak. Still tag-teaming with Mayim Bialik at the legendary lectern, Jennings recently left his post at The Chase which prompted rumors of him potentially landing the Jeopardy! job full-time. Roach recently weighed in on which television personality she would like to see earn the coveted title.
Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik moderated the quiz board in season 38
Jennings kicked off guest-hosting duties in January 2021 following the death of beloved Jeopardy! icon Alex Trebek in November 2020. With Jennings’ storied history with the show between his 74-game winning streak in 2004, earning the Greatest of All Time title in 2020, and now a consulting producer, Jennings is seen as a shoe-in for the role of permanent host. Longtime Jeopardy! viewers have openly lobbied for him on social media to be given the gig.
Bialik has her own fan base, and The Big Bang Theory alum hasn’t been shy about wanting to be named the quiz show’s full-time moderator. Willing to juggle her Fox Network sitcom with her Jeopardy! schedule, Bialik knew early in her hosting run that she had found her dream job.
“Having a full-time job [on Fox’s Call Me Kat] didn’t stop me from wanting it,” she told Glamour. “But it really was after those two days [as guest host] that I realized I had never wanted anything more than that job. From just those two days [taping episodes to air over two weeks]. I said to the crew, ‘I don’t want to leave. I really don’t want to leave.’”
Mattea Roach casts her vote for the GOAT
Bialik handed the podium over to Jennings early in Roach’s run. After seeing the Jeopardy! GOAT in action at the lectern, Roach didn’t hesitate when asked her pick for permanent host.
“I would say Ken because of his history with the show,” the Canadian native revealed to Vulture. “As a contestant, there’s something really special about being onstage with the greatest player of all time. Someone who understands in a very visceral way what it’s like to be in your position. Mayim is fantastic, but she doesn’t have that same experience.”
Roach isn’t the only former contestant to cast her vote for Jennings. Amy Schneider won 40 consecutive games with Jennings at the Jeopardy! helm and views him as the top pick for the gig.
“Ken Jennings should be the host,” Schneider told CNN, according to The Week. “I really can’t say enough about him. I didn’t necessarily think that before going into this because, yes, he was a great champion, but this is a different skill set. But you could see the work that he put into it, and I just thought he did a really great job. So as far as I’m concerned, that’s my endorsement.”
‘Jeopardy!’ champ encourages others to ‘take the test’
Potential contestants must take an online test in order to qualify for Jeopardy! Roach admitted that while she was a Jeopardy! fan, applying for the show was something she did on the fly. Clearly her spontaneous test-taking is turning a huge profit and she prompted others to give it a shot.
“I wasn’t somebody who had been trying for years to get on,” Roach remarked. “I took the test one time on a whim, and it worked out extremely well. Please, everyone, take the test. You have nothing to lose. The worst thing that happens is nothing, which is the same as before.”
