Mayim Bialik: 'There is no other job I'd rather have than' Jeopardy! host

After Mike Richards' short-lived stint as Jeopardy! host, Mayim Bialik is again stepping behind the lectern — and it sounds like she's ready to stay there.

The Big Bang Theory star will take over as Jeopardy! guest host Monday after Richards, the former executive producer of Jeopardy!, resigned as its new host after a single day of taping. In an essay in Newsweek, Bialik reflected that when she previously served as one of the guest hosts of Jeopardy!, she remembers thinking, "I don't want to leave."

"When I left The Big Bang Theory, I said that there would never be another job like it," she says. "It was the best job I had ever had, besides being a parent. I can now say that there is no other job I'd rather have than this job on Jeopardy!. I joke that I would give up my first child to host permanently! I think my son and I have a close enough bond that he will come back to me!"

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Jeopardy!'s previous plan for replacing late host Alex Trebek was to have Richards host the regular daily show and Bialik host primetime and spinoff shows. But after Richards stepped down due to past offensive podcast comments, there has been speculation that Bialik could be hired for the full-time gig, assuming she's able to fit it into her schedule. Another frontrunner is former champion Ken Jennings, and Jeopardy! recently announced Bialik and Jennings will share hosting duties until the end of the year. A permanent daily host has still yet to be announced.

In her Newsweek essay, Bialik also reflected a bit on the Richards controversy, saying she doesn't "wish ill on him, or anyone," and adding, "The complexity of these situations is not something that can be summed up easily." She also pays tribute to Trebek, writing, "It probably sounds crazy, but you definitely feel Alex's presence on that stage."