Ryan Seacrest falls after ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant topples him with win excitement

Hosting “Wheel of Fortune” isn’t all prize money and one-liners.

Ryan Seacrest learned that lesson the hard way Tuesday when an overeager guest accidentally tackled him to the ground.

When contestant Daniel Thomas cracked a particularly challenging puzzle, he was so overjoyed that his embrace of Seacrest knocked the host off his feet.

Known for being the more raucous relative in network television’s game-show lineup, “Wheel” often features loud contestants yelling and jumping in a brightly colored wake-up after the more demure and intellectual “Jeopardy!”

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Thomas embodied that spirit Tuesday when he traveled over to the mini-wheel to compete in the notoriously difficult bonus round.

Given the “Living Things” clue with seven blank letter spots staring back at him, Thomas’ only additional hint was and E and S at the end of the word, filled in by co-host Vanna White.

Thomas, then adding letters himself, successfully guessed “G” for a consonant and then had a mere 10 seconds to shout the word.

To his surprise, just before the clock ran out, his guess of “guppies” hit the mark prompting an embrace with Seacrest so powerful he fell over backward.

“I’m good. I’m good,” Seacrest said, helping himself back up to reveal a golden card with a $40,000 prize for Thomas. His total cash winnings ticked up to $71,950.

Seacrest jokingly shied away from Thomas, feigning fear as the celebrations continued. “Are you OK? I’m so sorry,” Thomas said.

“How did you do that in the last second?” Seacrest asked to which Thomas quipped, “Push you over or solve the puzzle?”

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The tumble was clearly all in good fun for Seacrest, who is hitting his stride now five months into his tenure as host of the show. He stepped up to the plate late last year after longtime host Pat Sajak announced he would retire.

Sajak served as host of the show alongside letter-master White for 40 years. Sajak himself was once a replacement host, taking over for Chuck Woolery who steered the program from 1975 to 1981.

“I know how special it is that ‘Wheel’ has been in your living rooms for the past 40 years, and I’m just so grateful to be invited in. I also know I’ve got some very big shoes to fill,” Seacrest told audiences the night of his first show.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan Seacrest ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fall: Eager contestant tackles host