Travis Kelce Says He’s ‘Terrified What People Are Gonna Say’ When He Hosts Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?

Travis Kelce is nervous about his new role as a TV host!

The NFL star, 35, shared on the Wednesday, Oct. 16, episode of the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast with his brother Jason Kelce that he’s “terrified” of the fan reaction to him hosting his new gameshow Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? ahead of the season premiere.

“I’m terrified. Terrified what people are gonna say,” Travis said of the Prime Video show, which premieres on Oct. 16.

“There are a few twists to this game, and, I do a great job of describing it in the episodes,” he later explained. “So you’ll get caught up to all the rules and regulations that we got going on with the celebrities and, how the celebrities can help you out.” 

The Kansas City Chiefs star also admitted on the podcast that he’s “a terrible reader” and that he did some extra preparation for his hosting role while filming the show.

“I was kinda like quizzing myself going through the questions in the back, just making sure,” said Travis. “I would read them once just so, because I’m a terrible reader, so I would make sure I would get all the pronunciations done and corrected in the background.”

Despite his nerves, Travis shared that he “had so much fun” making the show as he reflected on his experience hosting the series. 

“I never in a million years thought I was ever going to be an actual host of a game show,” he said on the podcast. “I always thought it was gonna be fun to, like, maybe go on one of the game shows. And then somebody asked me, ‘Do you wanna host it?’ ”

“I used to mimic all the game show hosts as a kid,” Travis added. 

Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? introduces a new twist on the original gameshow Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, which debuted in 2007.

Per the official synopsis, each episode features “an adult contestant who will rely on a classroom full of celebrities from comedy, screen, and sports to help them answer 11 questions on a range of subjects, pulled from elementary curriculum.”

The first episodes features comedian Nikki Glaser, former NFL star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, TV host and actress Lilly Singh, comedian and actor Ron Funches and comedian and actress Natasha Leggero.

Travis’ new role as a gameshow host comes as he is also currently starring in Ryan Murphy’s horror-FX series Grotesquerie.

Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? premieres with the first three episodes on Oct. 16 on Prime Video, with weekly releases to follow.