'Today' host Savannah Guthrie wants to return to work, but question remains 'when and how': insider
NBC "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie wants to return to work and the network wants her back too, but it still remains a question of "when and how," an insider tells Fox News Digital.
Guthrie has been off the air since early February following the disappearance of her mother Nancy Guthrie from her home in Tuscon, Arizona, in a tragic case that has captivated the nation but led to few answers.
"She wants to come back and everyone wants her to come back," an NBC insider told Fox News Digital. "It's just a question of when and how — whether, given what she is living through, she feels like she can do a show that requires cheeriness."
"She is an amazing, faithful person with everyone’s support and I have every confidence she will figure out a way back," they added.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE SAYS FAMILY IN ‘AGONY' IN FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE MOTHER NANCY'S DISAPPEARANCE
NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Guthrie remains on great terms with her colleagues, visiting them at 30 Rock earlier this month in an emotional reunion. The show has shared constant updates and on-air prayers for Guthrie, who has been a co-host of "Today" since 2012, and her mother's plight.
"I have every intention of coming back. I don’t know how to come back, but I don’t know how not to. You’re my family and I would like to try," Guthrie told colleagues during her visit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
There has been industry speculation that Guthrie could return to "Today" sometime next month.
NANCY GUTHRIE'S SUSPECTED ABDUCTION: TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN DISAPPEARANCE OF 'TODAY' HOST'S MOM
This week, Guthrie sat down with Hoda Kotb, who's been filling in for her on "Today," for her first interview since her mother's disappearance.
"Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony, we are in agony," a tearful Guthrie told Kotb in a preview of the interview that aired Wednesday.
"And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night," she said. "And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. But she needs to come home now."
"Today" will air the remainder of the interview in two parts on Thursday and Friday.
SEARCH FOR NANCY GUTHRIE ENTERS 5TH WEEK, CADAVER DOGS ON HOLD
Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been taken against her will, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. Her son-in-law dropped her off at home around 10 p.m. the night before she went missing. In the early morning hours, a masked man appeared on her doorstep.
At around 2:30 a.m., her pacemaker made its last sync with her Apple devices, indicating a potential timeframe for when she was taken out of the home. Her watch and iPhone were recovered inside.
The "Today" anchor has posted several videos to social media pleading for her mother’s return. She asked anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Guthrie, 54, first joined NBC News in 2007 as a legal analyst and correspondent, and she later served as chief White House correspondent.
Fox News' Brian Flood and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.