“Today” show anchors and crew members recently visited co-host Al Roker at his doorstep with a sweet surprise following his recent hospitalization.
In a segment aired Wednesday, the veteran weather forecaster was seen opening his door to a large group of his colleagues wearing Santa hats and greeting him with a rendition of “Jingle Bells.”
Roker appeared to get emotional as he was serenaded by the crowd, which included anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin.
“It’s impressive you did that without a prompter,” Roker joked after the song.
“I just want to thank you all,” he said, fighting back tears. “It’s been a long hard slog. And I’ve missed you all so, so very much, all these faces. It means so much to me and to our family.”
The weatherman also shared his appreciation for wife Deborah Roberts, calling her “my rock.” Roberts, an ABC News correspondent, helped the “Today” team coordinate the surprise.
The crowd then sang another holiday standard, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Roker later celebrated the moment in an Instagram post, writing, “Words cannot express how much I love my @todayshow family for coming over to do a little caroling including a special rendition of ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas.’”
On Nov. 18, the TV personality revealed that he had been taken to the hospital with blood clots in his leg and lungs. Roker left the facility on Thanksgiving, but Kotb would later confirm reports that he had been readmitted the following day “due to some complications.”
Roker announced Monday that he was back home after spending several weeks in the hospital. In a video call on “Today” with the show’s other hosts, he said he was focused on getting his strength back following a “tough slog.”
The weatherman previously said in November 2020 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. After undergoing surgery to remove the organ, he stated that his doctor found no evidence of cancer elsewhere in his body.