Mayim Bialik begins hosting duty on game show Jeopardy!

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Mayim Bialik

Actress Mayim Bialik made her debut as the host of beloved U.S. gameshow Jeopardy! on Monday night after a summer of drama, which led to the dismissal of executive producer Mike Richards.

Richards and Bialik were hired as the quiz show's permanent hosts, following the death of Alex Trebek late last year, but the executive producer was fired last month after controversial old podcast posts surfaced.

It was recently announced that former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings would be his replacement, sharing hosting duties with Mayim until the end of 2021.

She stepped onto the Jeopardy! stage on Monday and said, "Welcome. I am so honoured to be part of the Jeopardy! family. There is no place I'd rather be."

The Big Bang Theory star made no mention of the summer's drama, but in an essay she wrote for Newsweek, Bialik stated: "Of course I was in touch with Mike as he was my boss... and I don't wish ill on him, or anyone. The complexity of these situations is not something that can be summed up easily.

"My first response, when all of this went down, was to say to the Jeopardy! team, 'How can I help? Because I am part of this family.'"

She added: "I feel very honoured to have been given the responsibility and the opportunity to step up into this hosting position. It's been as dreamy as it was for the two days that I guest hosted. I work very long days, but they fly by. We shoot five episodes a day and I get to meet fascinating people from all walks of life.

"Of course, I am grateful and honoured to carve out so much of my time on behalf of Jeopardy! because I feel very connected to the show, the legacy and everything that Alex and the team behind the scenes have built."