“Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie is on the mend after vocal surgery and has been keeping her “new voice” under wraps — mostly.
Guthrie returned briefly to the NBC morning show, calling in to Tuesday morning’s broadcast to share an update about her recovery with her “Today” crew and viewers. The news anchor, 54, has been absent from the “Today” desk since mid-December because of her vocal chord surgery.
The longtime “Today” personality and journalist began her cameo smiling and showing off her white board to her co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly, Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin and Al Roker. Shortly after writing “love you,” Guthrie decided to do away with the whiteboard completely and began to talk.
“So I am still on vocal rest but I’m allowed to talk for about five to 10 minutes every hour,” she told her co-hosts. “This is my new voice — or my old voice. But my new voice.”
“Sounds the same,” Roker observed, while other co-hosts also discussed Guthrie’s sound.
Guthrie explained that her recovery will be “slow” and that she needs to be cautious about how often she talks while on the mend. She joked with Daly that the long weekend with her children tested just how much she can raise her voice post-surgery.
She also used her time on Tuesday’s broadcast to share details about her official return to “Today.” Guthrie told Bush Hager and their co-hosts that she will return to her duties on Monday. Before then, she will be featured in a “Today” story about her surgery set to air on Friday, she said.
Guthrie announced her surgery and her break from “Today” duties on Dec. 19. During that broadcast she told viewers that her “voice has been very scratchy and started to crack a little bit.” At the time, she said she learned she had non-cancerous growths on her vocal cords.
During Guthrie’s “Today” stop, Jones — who underwent the same surgery in 2020 — said “we take our voices for granted.” Guthrie ended her “Today” appearance expressing gratitude for her “Today” family and showing off gift mugs from her supporters.
“See you Friday,” she said.
