‘Jeopardy’ host Ken Jennings ‘flirts’ with champ James Holzhauer

I’ll take “flirtatious banter” for $1,000.

“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings and returning champion James Holzhauer had a rather flirty exchange Friday during the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament.

The saucy nerd banter between the two men occurred after contestant Matt Amodio chose a question under the “Authors” category.

“The Detroit Free Press said ‘The Mummy’ was ‘vintage’ this novelist; ‘elegantly erotic & full of enchanting terror,’” read the clue.

Amodio buzzed in with the answer “What’s Stoker.”

Jennings, 48, declared that the answer was incorrect and after the two players failed to chime in, revealed the answer to be “Anne Rice.”

“I also refer to James as ‘elegantly erotic but full of enchanting terror,’” the 48-year-old host said.

Holzhauer, 38, retorted to the quip, saying: “Keep it in your pants, Ken.”

The rather flirtatious exchange caused Mattea Roach — another returning champ — to cover her mouth as she started laughing out loud.

But Holzhauer — who came in second to Jennings in the highest winnings during regular-season play — wouldn’t let the remark die.

“We actually had to pause taping so Ken could take a cold shower,” tweeted Holzhauer later that day with a clip of the exchange.

The Post reached out to Jennings and Holzhauer for comment.

Fans of the game show were divided about how they felt about the spicy exchange.

“This was the best moment of the show so far,” laughed one fan. “Loving the banter!”

“‘Keep it in your pants Ken’ could be a T-shirt,” said a second person.

“‘Keep it in your pants, Ken,’ is among the top ten phrases I was not expecting to hear on #JeopardyMasters tonight, and no, I don’t know what the other nine are,” snarked another.

Several other fans replied to Holzhauer’s tweet with several GIFs regarding the steamy and erotic nature of the banter.

Other viewers were not so entertained and found the whole situation “weird” and unprofessional.

“I cannot believe the comment made the final cut. I laughed but it was weird,” tweeted one uncomfortable viewer.

“Well, that exchange late in the last round took #JeopardyMasters close to the ‘TV-G’ line,” slammed another.

“I know Ken Jennings is in love with James Holzhauer like the rest of us but he needs to be less horny,” admonished one fan. “You’re on primetime Ken. pull yourself together.”

The game show host has recently caught flak from fans after the 48-year-old remained to host the show during the Writers Guild of America strike.

“Last week I had the pleasure of picketing with a group of Jeopardy writers at Sony,” tweeted TV writer Sarah Watson. “I’m disappointed that @KenJennings has chosen to cross the picket line and disrespect the hard-working people who wrote the questions that made him famous.”

“‘Jeopardy!’ is a WGA show and one of its writers, Michele Loud, correctly told Variety, ‘There is no ‘Jeopardy!’ without writers,’” tweeted another person. “‘Without us, it’s just an empty blue screen.’ The final week of clues was written beforehand but to see Ken Jennings scab? What is a disappointment?”

In a move of solidarity for the syndicated tv show’s writers, Mayim Bialik — who co-hosts with Jennings — stepped down from her duties in the final weeks of shooting for the game’s 39th season.