SCOTT YAPHE

Scott Yaphe loved the sequined suits and sky-high hair that made him famous on “Uh Oh!”

Host Scott Yaphe helped make “Uh Oh!” one of the strangest Canadian game shows on television and he loved every minute of it.

Going by the name Wink Yahoo, Yaphe was known for his flashy suit jackets and mile-high hair on the show that aired from 1997 – 2003 on YTV.

“I wanted to be really smarm, over the top, real cheese and it kind of came easy. I don’t know in retrospect if I should fear that,” says Yaphe with a laugh.

“Wink Yahoo was self-explanatory.  The ultimate exaggeration, loud jackets, hair that was a mile and a half high. Scott Yaphe, or Wink, was just perfect,” says director Rick Watts. 

Fellow castmate Sam Cook remembers Scott arriving on set before anyone else to get his hair just right. 

“I remember I’d walk in and he’d be upside down, they’d be blow-drying his hair and spraying it upside down. That wasn’t a wig.”

The show also became iconic for how it dropped slime on its contestants by a masked man named The Punisher. 

But somehow the kids loved it, just as they adored Wink.

“The show really was run by Wink Yahoo. He was the centre of the show and kids loved him,” says Briane Nasimok, creative consultant on “Uh Oh!”

Yaphe hosted an earlier variety show on YTV called “It’s Alive” and did a short sketch on the show called “Uh Oh!”

When “It’s Alive!” was cancelled and Yaphe was asked to host the new incarnation of “Uh Oh!” he couldn’t refuse.

“Of course as an out of work actor at the time looking for a pay cheque I was like, ‘Yeah absolutely I’d love to do that!” 

The show ended in 2003 after 200 episodes and as sad as it was to say goodbye, Yaphe says it did open doors for him.

“I saw the universe work its magic in action, putting me on sets where I was supposed to meet certain people.”

Yaphe is now pursuing his true calling as an energy healer in Toronto and says he still gets recognized as the host of “Uh Oh!”

“When a client comes in sometimes they’re surprised that Wink Yahoo is the one who’s doing it,” says Yaphe.