Today Show hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie were delighted to confirm that their co-star Al Roker would be taking part in the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Parade after missing last year's telecast for the first time in 27 years.
Since 1995, Al has hosted the annual celebration, which is broadcast live on NBC from New York City. But last year, Al was forced to bow out of the show due to illness.
During Tuesday's edition of Today, Hoda expressed her delight over Al's return.
After watching a report from Dylan Dreyer at the Macy's Parade Studio, Hoda reminded viewers about the upcoming event. "Tune into the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Parade next Thursday. I remember last year was not the same because Mr Al Roker was not there," said the TV star, who joined Savannah as the event's co-host in 2018.
Al quipped: "It was probably better," to which Hoda quickly responded: "No, it was not and now you're back where you belong. Looking forward to it."
Savannah added: "Making up for lost time."
Al was unable to feature in the 2022 parade due to health issues. At the time, the television personality had been hospitalized for multiple blood clots in his leg and lungs.
Hoda and Savannah addressed Al's absence at the top of last year's telecast, with Hoda telling viewers: "For the past 27 parades, at this moment, we'd turn to Al Roker, our Today show colleague and our best pal, but, as a lot of you have heard, Al's recovering, and he's recovering very well from a recent medical issue.
"We just want to say we love you, Al. Wonder if you're watching? But, we wish you a full recovery."
Savannah added: "We love you, Al. We'll see you next year!"
Thankfully, Dylan was on hand to step in for Al and covered the parade from the Upper West Side.
As well as missing the parade, Al was also forced to take a break from the Today Show.
Explaining his absence on Instagram at the time, he wrote: "So many of you have been thoughtfully asking where I've been.
© Getty Images"Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs. After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope to see you soon. Have a great weekend, everyone."
After taking two months off, Al returned to NBC Studios in January. "My heart is bursting," he said upon his return. "I'm so thrilled to see the crew and all of you. I'm running on adrenaline; I'm thrilled to be here."
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Then in May, the weather forecaster was admitted to hospital once again for knee replacement surgery.
© Instagram/Deborah RobertsSpeaking about the challenges that came with the operation during a virtual appearance on the show, he said: "I'm going to be honest. I've had a number of replacements, knee replacements. It's not a big surprise.
"This one has been the toughest one yet because they had to take out the old one, which had some complications, and then put in a new one."
Thankfully, Al wasn't away for too long and returned to the show at the end of the month.
