“Ten pounds heavier and eight years older” controversial Gifford takes on one of the most high-profile jobs in TV

By Jeffrey Mitchell

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 3/31/08 – Matt Lauer confirmed that former Live with Regis and Kathie Lee co-host Kathie Lee Gifford,56, is returning to daytime as a co-anchor of the “Today” show’s fourth hour, which was introduced in September. According to Monday’s announcement made by Lauer and Vieira, the hosts of the first “Today” show hours, Gifford, who left her spot as Regis Philbin’s sidekick eight years ago to pursue her singing career (?) will join Hoda Kotb, starting next Monday, April 7.

Seated beside Lauer and Vieira on the Today Show Monday morning10pt”>, Gifford laughed about the timing of her return to TV. “I’m eight years older, 10 pounds heavier, a half-inch shorter, and just in time for HD television.” Gifford, who got her start on “Name That Tune” had a controversial marriage with Paul Johnson, after having a spiritual revival and converting to Christianity after seeing a Billy Graham Film. She later told Larry King “I was raised with many Jewish traditions and raised to be very grateful for my Jewish heritage.” She was a cheer leader at Bowie High school in Maryland.

Rumours always flew about her stormy relationship on air with Philbin and the apparent, if made-for-TV sexual tension that was so evident in their long term stay on “Regis and Kathy Lee Live”.

Gifford remarked “I am truly honored to join the Today Show family, many of whom have been friends and colleagues of mine for years. And I’m especially looking forward to working with Hoda, a bright and beautiful woman I admire very much. Together I hope we will bring a fresh and fun perspective to the topics that affect all of our daily lives.”

The move marks Gifford’s third morning show assignment after she reported for “Good Morning America” before becoming Regis Philbin’s co-host on “Live” for more than a decade.

Sitting alongside the program’s established stars, Gifford, who is now 54, joked that the timing of her TV return “couldn’t be worse” in certain ways: “I’m eight years older, 10 pounds heavier, a half-inch shorter, and just in time for HD television.”

Gifford’s addition to the crew, currently consisting of Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, the hosts of the first two hours, Ann Curry and Al Roker, who currently host the third hour, Natalie Morales, who was named a co-anchor of the fourth hour last September and will now move to the third hour and Hoda Kotb, also a co-anchor of the fourth hour, will make the job easier for some of the anchors.

“I am excited to welcome Kathie Lee to ‘Today,’” executive producer Jim Bell says. “She is a morning television icon and is on a short list of personalities known by her first name alone. We are looking forward to her signature warmth and sense of humor in the fourth hour.”

Asked about what made her decide to come back to television, Gifford, who is married to former NFL star and sports announcer Frank Gifford, credited Kotb as well as the fact that her son, Cody, was leaving for college in the fall.

“Timing is everything in life. It was the right time when I left the show all those years ago, for my family especially, and my son’s going off to college this fall,” she said, adding with a laugh that he is “6-3 and obnoxious.”