Ryan Seacrest to replace Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune

US TV personality Ryan Seacrest will take the helm of the iconic Wheel of Fortune game show in 2024.

He will replace Pat Sajak, who recently announced he would retire after more than 40 years hosting the show.

Seacrest will also serve as a consulting producer under a his multi-year agreement.

The 48-year-old has been a familiar face on American televisions for years, hosting singing competitions and talk shows.

Co-host Vanna White will remain with Wheel of Fortune.

"I'm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak," Seacrest said in a statement on Tuesday.

"I can say, along with the rest of America, that it's been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them."

He praised Sajak for how he "always celebrated the contestants and made viewers at home feel at ease".

Sajak, 76, is staying on as a consultant with the programme, show producers said.

Seacrest will continue to host the singing competition American Idol, where he has worked since 2002.

Until recently, he was co-host on the popular morning talk show Live with Kelly and Ryan, where he had a six-year run.

Sajak began hosting Wheel of Fortune in 1981. In 2018 he became the longest-running host of a game show, surpassing The Price Is Right's Bob Barker.

The primetime staple still attracts 26 million viewers weekly, according to Sony, and over 10,000 people audition to be on the show each year.

The show was originally devised in 1975 as a TV version of popular game "Hangman". Centered around a spinning wheel, it involves contestants solving word puzzles to win prizes.

Meanwhile, it has also been announced that Wheel of Fortune will return to UK TV next year, with Graham Norton as host.

Adapted from the hit US programme, it originally ran on ITV from 1988 to 2001.

Eight episodes of the revival, helmed by the Eurovision and Graham Norton Show presenter, will be broadcast on ITV and its streaming service ITVX.