Hoda Kotb fills in for Savannah Guthrie 1 year after ‘Today’ show departure as anchors ‘navigate’ Nancy’s disappearance

Hoda Kotb resumed her “Today” show role as Savannah Guthrie remains off the air, as her mom, Nancy Guthrie, remains missing.

Kotb, who exited NBC in January 2025 after 26 years with the network, filled in for her former colleague on Monday morning.

“Hoda is joining us as Savannah remains with her family in Arizona,” Craig Melvin told viewers, letting Kotb know how “grateful” he was to have her at his side and placing a hand on her arm.

Four hosts, two men and two women, seated at a desk on the Today show set.
Hoda Kotb filled in for Savannah Guthrie on Monday morning as Nancy Guthrie remains missing. Today/NBC

Hoda Kotb speaking on the "Today" show, with a banner that reads "OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FOR SAVANNAH AND FAMILY."
The former “Today” show co-anchor was “happy to be with” her NBC “family” on Monday. Today/NBC

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“You know what, Craig?” Kotb, 61, asked. “We always talk about our show as a family. We are a family, I’m part of the family. I’m happy to be with you because we show up for each other.

“So let’s get to it!” she declared.

Later in the show, Melvin, 46, opened up about their struggles to “navigate” their close friend’s family crisis.

Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb smiling at An Evening at Ralph's.
“We show up for each other,” Kotb (pictured above in July 2024) said. WWD via Getty Images

Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on a talk show set.
“Let’s get to it!” Kotb (pictured above in January 2025) declared. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

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“Hoda is joining us this morning as our ‘Today’ family continues to navigate uncharted territory, balancing the updates and search to Savannah’s mom with all the other stories of the day like we normally do — but we know things are far from normal,” Melvin explained.

He asked fans for “grace as [they] continue to do this,” more than one week since Nancy was reported missing from her Tucson, Ariz., home.

Kotb, who returned to the “Today” show last week for an emotional segment, added, “Paramount through all of this, Savannah and her family are top priority. In addition to that, there is also a job to do.”

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager sitting at the "Hoda & Jenna" table on the set of Today All Day.
Kotb left the network in January 2025 after 26 years.

Hoda Kotb (center) and two other women cooking in a kitchen.
She returned on Friday for an emotional segment about Nancy.

Carson Daly, putting a hand on Kotb’s shoulder, said, “We’re going to do our best and certainly it’s not easy to do our jobs. We’re doing that, obviously, for her.”

Al Roker, for his part, noted, “We’re able to do this because we know that’s exactly what Savannah would want us to do .”

When Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones joined their co-hosts, the former said, “All of us continue to keep Savannah and her family in our hearts and in our prayers.”

Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker pose on the Today Show set in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Savannah (pictured above in August 2024) has been off air for more than a week. Getty Images

Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on the "Today" show.
Savannah (pictured above in May 2018) also pulled out of hosting the Winter Olympics. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

She and Jones, 47, highlighted “sweet messages of support” for Nancy and her loved ones.

The 84-year-old was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 and is believed to have been kidnapped.

As the desperate search for the matriarch intensifies, Savannah and her siblings — Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie — have appealed to Nancy’s potential abductors in multiple emotional videos.

Three adults, two women and a man, sit on a couch with their eyes closed, holding hands in an emotional plea.
Over the weekend, Savannah and her siblings sent an emotional plea to the 84-year-old’s purported captors. Savannah Guthrie/Instagram

Sheriff's deputies near a white police vehicle, in the general views of the Tucson, Arizona home of Nany Guthrie.
Nancy was last seen at her Tucson, Ariz., home on Jan. 31. Andy Johnstone for California Post

“We will pay,” Savannah, who pulled out of hosting the ongoing Winter Olympics, promised in their latest plea in response to purported ransom notes requesting $6 million in bitcoin.

No suspects have been named, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos saying in a press conference Thursday that they are “actively looking at everybody.”

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for “information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”