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‘Jeopardy!’: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reveals How His Family Life Inspired Him to Take on Guest Hosting Gig

Upcoming “Jeopardy!” guest host Dr. Sanjay Gupta reveals how his family life has inspired him to take on the game show gig.

Beginning tomorrow, neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent for CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, will take the “Jeopardy!” stage to try his steady hand at hosting. Dr. Gupta will be featured on the show from June 28 until July 9. Will he bring the brainpower or flatline?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s Family Traditions

Recently, Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke in an exclusive interview with “Jeopardy!” about his thoughts for the upcoming gig. With such a busy schedule saving lives and such, why did Dr. Gupta want to be on the hit game show in the first place? The 51-year-old said it was his family and their traditions that persuaded him to be featured.

“Well, this is a show that I’ve watched for a long time,” states Dr. Gupta. “My parents, who are immigrants to this country, they’re numbers and data and facts people, engineers, they love ‘Jeopardy!’, so we used to watch it together. And then I got a chance to watch it with my own kids. So, when the opportunity came, it was the whole family, really, just so enthusiastic about this, and I jumped at the opportunity.”

Meeting An Icon

As for Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s favorite “Jeopardy!” memory, that would fall in line with meeting an absolute legend.

“You know, I think the… Well, I will say this, I did get a chance to briefly meet Alex once at a ceremony, and we didn’t get a chance to talk much. I really wish we had. But it was a favorite moment because he’s Alex Trebek, and he just carries himself in a certain way. There’s this energy that you feel, and meeting Alex Trebek is almost assuredly going to be followed by telling all your friends you just met Alex Trebek. You know, so that was really good.”

Family Time With ‘Jeopardy!’

Besides meeting Alex Trebek (which is awesome), Dr. Sanjay Gupta recalls a time when his family would watch the show as one. He explains how “inspiring” it was for him.

“But I do think as a kid, watching Jeopardy with my parents– my parents are immigrants. English is not their first language, and still, they could do well, you know, when they played, and I think it was inspiring for me to see them sort of come out like that over a quiz show game here in the United States. It wasn’t something they ever dreamed of, sort of just watching and answering, and sort of, you know, answering and trying to compete against one another. But we all did, and even on a tough day, [we] sit around, watch ‘Jeopardy!’, get a few questions. Give the right responses. That felt good. I think those are some of my favorite memories.”

Following Dr. Sanjay Gupta, co-anchor for Good Morning America, and the former White House Communications Director George Stephanopoulos will take his place behind the podium until July 16.