NEED TO KNOW
Ryan Seacrest isn’t pushing his luck again after Derek Hough’s appearance on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.
The host, 50, revealed in a recent USA Today interview that Hough — who appeared on the game show on Sept. 26 alongside Dancing with the Stars colleagues Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy and Bruno Tonioli — actually stepped foot on the famed wheel. And he certainly wasn’t supposed to.
“In the commercial break, [Hough] was jumping on the center of the wheel and having Bruno spin it, much like the top of a cake ornament,” Seacrest revealed of Hough, 40.
“We did say, ‘Please don’t do that,” Seacrest added. “That would break it, and there’s only one of those wheels. If that breaks, we have a real problem.”
Disney/Eric McCandless
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Seacrest then explained that he even encouraged the DWTS cast to “stick to the ledge” during the show, which is exactly what Hough did. During the season 6 premiere, Hough notably jumped on the set’s podium, avoiding any damage to the show’s beloved money-making centerpiece.
“They’re very physical, and that makes for fun,” Seacrest said.
Hough’s methods may have paid off, though, as he won the episode and secured $63,350 for the Feeding America organization.
Disney/Eric McCandless
Elsewhere in the Wheel of Fortune universe, wheels may not have been broken but records were. Seacrest handed out biggest prize in the show’s history just last month, when contestant Christina Derevjanik from Stamford, Conn. won a cash prize of $1,035,155.
The victory made Derevjanik the first million-dollar winner since Seacrest took over hosting duties for Pat Sajak following his retirement in 2024.
Seacrest also joked with USA Today that “somebody in some office” was likely upset about cutting the million-dollar check to Derevjanik. “I thought that might be the case. But it’s not, because it’s such a rare thing,” he said. “When it happens, it happens, and the good news is they have to pay. Those are the rules.”
Last month, Seacrest caught up with PEOPLE about his busy schedule — from hosting Wheel to overseeing his weekly syndicated radio program, On Air with Ryan. “I do sleep. Everyone asks me, do I sleep?” he said. “It’s like, I go to bed immediately, and I get a good night’s sleep. But it’s pretty jam-packed in between the sleeps.”
As for how he gets that sleep, he told PEOPLE he has “a special pillow” he travels with. “So everywhere I am, I’ve got my own pillow that makes me fall asleep pretty easily,” he explained.
Wheel of Fortune airs weeknights (check local listings) on ABC. New episodes of Wheel of Fortune stream on Peacock, Hulu and Disney+ the next day.
