Ken Jennings competitor reveals what Jeopardy! host is really like behind the scenes

Ken Jennings has been a Jeopardy! celebrity since 2004, and has hosted the show since 2020. And one former competitor shares what he’s like when the camera isn’t rolling

Fans want to know what Ken is really like(Image: Getty Images)

Ken Jennings has made a name for himself in the trivia world before he became the host of Jeopardy!.

The 50-year-old became the host of the long-running game show in 2020, when he split the job with Mayim Bialik, but became the full-time host in 2023. But before that, he was a contestant on the show himself, starting in 2004.

Ken won a consecutive 74 games in a row and has set the record for the highest-earning Jeopardy! contestant ever. Fans of the show took to Reddit to discuss the now-host of Jeopardy!. Someone created a post that was titled, “Did anyone here face Ken Jennings?”

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In the post, the user elaborated, “Is there anyone in this sub that went up against Ken Jennings in his original 75 episode run?”

Ken hosts Jeopardy! since 2020(Image: ABC via Getty Images)

A user named DavidCMaybury responded that he played against Ken on The Chase, another game show that Ken appeared on. In 2020, Ken was one of the “chasers” for the first two seasons who competed against the contestants.

The user described the experience: “It was fun. Had a nice interaction with him, and he’s naturally very funny. It wasn’t aired because it was a rehearsal episode before they started taping season 2. So they did everything like a real episode to practice, just nothing counted.”

Another person chimed in: “I played him in a quiz bowl practice once. He smoked everyone on a tossup on the WWE Intercontinental Title. (I know not what you asked exactly, but I did play him in some form of quizzing, so it’s something!)”

Besides hosting the regular Jeopardy! show, Ken also hosts the celebrity edition of the show. And when he has famous people on the show, Ken has a few rules for them.

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He said in a behind-the-scenes clip, “There’s a lot of fun interchanges between the contestants. Often, I have to be the mean substitute teacher who’s like, ‘Quiet down back there! We need to finish Jeopardy!”

Amid the reprimanding, Ken said that he’s blown away by how good the celebrities are at the game. “I was just astounded by the level of play,” he said. “They were willing to take big risks. They were playing like pros.”