Bob Barker, come on down!
The legendary “Price Is Right” host is returning to the game show he hosted for 35 years on Thursday to celebrate his 90th birthday (11 a.m./Ch. 2).
And even though Barker retired from hosting duties in 2007, it felt like no time had passed once he stepped on the show’s stage (the episode was filmed last month).
“I felt right at home,” Barker tells The Post. “Even though they’ve changed the set quite a bit, it’s beautiful and I could not have been more comfortable.”
This is only Barker’s second appearance on the still popular “The Price Is Right” since retiring (he also came on in 2009 to plug his autobiography) and he calls it a “heartwarming” experience, with CBS brass coming down to welcome him back as well as a raucous reaction from the studio audience.
“That standing ovation brought a lump to my throat, it really did,” Barker says. “I could hardly speak right at first. I was welcomed with such enthusiasm that it warmed the cockles of my heart.
“The whole experience was exciting for me,” he says. “I only hope that the viewers who see the show will sense my comfort on the show, my happiness on the show and the fact that I really appreciate the opportunity to return to the show.”
Barker says he still occasionally watches “The Price Is Right” with new host Drew Carey and is “delighted” with how TV’s longest running game show has carried on in his absence.
“They’ve kept the show on the air and I still get a royalty,” he cracks. “I am one appreciative guy.”
Barker’s appearance coincides with “Price’”s first-ever Pet Adoption Week, a cause close to his heart. He used to sign off every show with the reminder to “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”
The near-nonagenarian has remained active in advocating for animal rights during retirement — “I have been so busy that I have considered going back into television so I could get some rest,” he jokes — most recently getting three elephants relocated from a Toronto zoo to a sanctuary in northern California with a healthier climate.
“The Price Is Right” is featuring pet adoptions each day this week in his honor, and though Barker wasn’t involved in any of the planning for the episodes, Thursday’s show will show him and Carey discussing the importance of spaying and neutering pets.
One thing that won’t happen, however, is Barker going down memory lane and taking a spin on “The Big Wheel.”
“No, they didn’t ask me to spin the wheel,” he says.
Have to save something for his 100th.