Danger! host Ken Jennings has taken time to remember his predecessor and icon Alex Trebek on the anniversary of his death, sharing memories of the last time he visited the former host on the set of the game show.

“Today, on the anniversary of his passing, I’ve been thinking a lot about the last time I came here to host him,” Jennings began in the video posted on Danger!‘s social media accounts. “It was shortly before the pandemic and he had announced his cancer diagnosis. And he actually asked me if he could go backstage.”

“I was a little worried about this,” he admitted. “I’d never been in his dressing room, you know, as a contestant.” In the end, what Jennings told of the meeting was that Trebek hadn’t been in the best shape behind the scenes of the contest. “He wasn’t feeling very well that day; he often looked and sounded fantastic while doing the show, but he wasn’t in the best shape backstage, but he greeted me warmly and I asked him how he was,” she continued.

What impressed the current host most was Trebek’s ability to maintain his composure, as well as the emotional state he reached when fans sent their love his way. “I was very touched by how excited I was by the great love I was receiving from Danger! fans. You wouldn’t believe the tens of thousands of letters, notes, afghans, emails and everything that came in and he went through and read it all.”

When it came time for that particular day on set, Jennings recalled Trebek telling him, “’Ken, you know most people don’t hear the good things about themselves because they don’t say them until they’re gone. You know they say those things at the funeral… I have to hear all those things while I’m still here.’”

In other words, Trebek knew how beloved he was by viewers and Jennings got to see firsthand how he impacted the legendary game show host. “It was just sweet how genuinely thoughtful and grateful he was for that opportunity,” Jennings added. “Then I realized that maybe I had never given much thought to how much he meant to people as a kind of light entertainer, quiz show host. He didn’t realize how important he was to the people watching. Danger!.”

Jennings recalled giving Trebek a hug backstage, even though he wasn’t sure Trebek hugged, noting that it was nice to see the host’s reaction to the love and support fans were sending his way. “He didn’t realize what it meant to us, which was everything,” Jennings concluded.

Watch his full message, above, and tell us what you thought of Jennings’ touching story, below.

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