Late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek appears in moving Thanksgiving message: ‘Keep the faith’

Beloved TV host appeared posthumously to deliver words of encouragement and hope

A Thanksgiving message from late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek was aired by the show this week.

Trebek, who died on 8 November after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, recorded the touching words before his death.

In the message, he encourages listeners to hold on to their faith during the unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Happy Thanksgiving, ladies and gentleman,” he begins. “You know, in spite of what America and the rest of the world is experiencing right now, there are many reasons to be thankful.

“There are more and more people extending helpful hands to do a kindness to their neighbours, and that's a good thing.”

The 20-second message concludes: “Keep the faith, we're going to get through all of this, and we will be a better society because of it.”

The message aired on Thursday’s (26 November) episode.

The official Jeopardy! Twitter account wrote alongside the video: “High on our list of things to be thankful for this year: Alex's Thanksgiving message from today's show. We hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!”

Trebek presided over a record-breaking 8,000 episodes of Jeopardy!, which he began hosting in 1984.

The final episode he recorded will air on Christmas Day.