Ryan Seacrest faces his first Wheel of Fortune flub and Vanna White had to step in

Ryan Seacrest survived his first fumble as host of “Wheel of Fortune” with a little help from co-host Vanna White — and eagle-eyed fans took notice.The multi-hyphenate host of the long-running show kept a contestant in suspense by pausing too long after they solved a puzzle correctly.Contestant Cody Hunger was playing a bonus round on the Oct.

4 episode of “Wheel of Fortune,” having just won the weeklong BetMGM Big Winners Tournament.He opted for a puzzle from the “phrase” category for his final challenge. After spinning the wheel, Hunter picked four additional letters to help him solve the puzzle: “C, D, Y, O” – letters that also happen to spell his name when reordered. Hunger had only 10 seconds to secure the $94,900 jackpot, and, despite the pressure, solved the puzzle correctly, guessing “out of the way.” But, rather than immediately proclaim Hunger the winner, Seacrest left him hanging for a couple of suspenseful seconds. His co-host, White, felt the tension as she smiled and gave a small stifled clap, signaling to Hunger that he guessed correctly while they waited for Seacrest to confirm the win.Finally, Seacrest spoke.“Cody? That’s it!”Hunger was clearly relieved, bending backward as he exclaimed, “Oh my God.” “You got it! Congratulations,” Seacrest said, grinning ear to ear.

Hunger was then joined by his friends as confetti and streamers showered the stage.It didn’t take long for “Wheel of Fortune” fans to weigh in on Seacrest’s belated response, as TV Insider noted. In a Reddit thread titled, “How about that pause,” the original poster wrote, “What a nightmare for the guy as he had to wait for Ryan to wake up and tell him he got the puzzle.”“Lol I love Ryan but that’s his first blooper hahaha,” a fan said. Another defended the host, writing, “Ryan obviously did that for dramatic effect.”“The pause was robotic.Didn’t even say what he had won with the solve,” another “Wheel” w...