NBC’s Today Show faces a painful disruption as Savannah Guthrie remains off-air during the ongoing search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie, and the person to temporarily take her place is Hoda Kotb.
As viewers watched the story unfold in the media, the show faced the issue of who would sit in the anchor chair while Savannah remained home. Now, multiple outlets report that the temporary answer is Kotb.
Hoda Kotb will reportedly continue hosting Today show amid Savannah Guthrie’s absence
Page Six exclusively reported that Hoda Kotb will stay in Savannah Guthrie’s seat on the Today show for an extended period as Nancy Guthrie’s search continues, with sources describing a regular plan inside Studio 1A.
A source claimed, “At the moment, we’re taking things week by week, day by day.” Meanwhile, another insider added, “Hoda has been a steady hand, and calm presence for the staff,” even though Kotb left Today a little over a year ago.
However, the outlet reported that she returned on February 6 to fill in after Savannah’s mother disappeared. She will remain alongside co-anchor Craig Melvin in the meantime.
Additionally, Page Six reported that show leaders have dealt with more than scheduling, with insiders pointing to damaging rumors about who could take Savannah’s job. But Kotb does not plan to return full-time, as she focuses on her lifestyle business, Joy 101, and her family.
Savannah has missed major network duties during her absence, including the Winter Olympics opening ceremony and early coverage in Milan, along with NBC’s “State of the Union” coverage. Kotb and Melvin had planned to travel to Italy, but Page Six claimed that they instead stayed in New York.
As Nancy Guthrie’s search drags on, Savannah has continued to speak to the public and announced a family reward of up to $1 million, saying, “We still believe in a miracle,” hoping for someone to tip the family or the police on a lead.
