Savannah Guthrie is wracked with worry over her return to the Today show.

The broadcaster, 54, stepped away from the NBC programme earlier this year after her mother Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in Arizona but Savannah has now confirmed she's going to be returning to work after the Easter break with her TV comeback scheduled for April 6 - but the longtime host fears she "not going to be the same" since tragedy struck her family two months ago.

In an interview with Today's Hoda Kotb, Savannah explained: "It's hard to imagine doing it [being back at work] because it's such a place of joy and lightness, and I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back, because it's my family. I think it's part of my purpose right now.

"I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real. I will have joy. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer. And being there is joyful. And when it's not, I'll say so. And I have been so grateful to have this family. I consider this my family, my greater family."

She added: "When times are hard, you want to be with your family. And I want to be with my family. And so I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore, but I would like to try. I would like to try.

"I'm not going to be the same. But maybe it's like that old poem: 'More beautiful in the broken places'."

During her break from hosting the show, Savanna returned to the studio in New York for a visit and she also filmed the three-part interview with Hoda - who stepped in to replace her during her time off.

Police in Arizona have yet to work out what happened to Nancy but her disappearance has been treated as a kidnapping.

During the interview, Savannah insisted she just wants to know what happened to her beloved mom.

She said: "Our anguish is real. We need help. We need someone to tell the truth. I have no anger in my heart. I have hope in my heart. I have love. But this family needs peace.

"I don't think we deserve anything more or less than any other person. We don't say: 'Why us?' 'Why me?' 'Why anything?' If I say: 'Why me?' for this horrible thing, then I have to say: 'Why me?' for all the beautiful blessings of my life. Well, then, yes, why? I don't know why.

"I'm grateful for my blessings, and I'm heartbroken for the sorrow. I'm heartbroken. I am crushed, but I am not abandoned ... We are not alone. Though we need an answer, and someone has it in their power to help. It is never too late.

"And when you do, the warmth of love and forgiveness that will come will be greater than can be imagined. I know what it is to be forgiven."