Kathie Lee Gifford leaves Today: Team pay tribute to 'legend' host as she exits show after 11 years

Gifford is set to end her Today tenure in April 2019

The Today team is saying goodbye to Kathie Lee Gifford, who announced on Tuesday morning she is set to leave the morning show.

Gifford, a fixture of Today's fourth hour, will remain a part of the NBC programme until 7 April, 2019, her next work anniversary, the network explained.

The co-host has been a part of Today for a decade. When she exits the show for good, her run will have totalled 11 years.

Her segment with Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee & Hoda, is one of the signature parts of the programme, characterised by its lighthearted tone – and the cocktails and glasses of wine Kotb and Gifford sip on to keep the mood "light and happy and uplifting", as Kotb previously told Today.

Gifford announced her upcoming departure during Tuesday's broadcast.

"It's bittersweet, as these things always are," she said, adding that she initially thought she would only stay on the show for one year but "fell in love" with her friend and co-worker Kotb.

"It's an exciting time for me and I'm thrilled about all the projects that are coming up but it's also hard because the reason I stayed for more than a year is because I love everybody here so much," Gifford added.

Kotb was the first to pay tribute to her co-host, telling her on the air, through tears: "The minute you stepped into my life with both feet, everything changed."

"Everything good that's happened in my life has happened since you came," she added, before pointing out that she met her partner Joel Schiffman and adopted her daughter Haley Joy throughout her run with Gifford on the show.

Other members of the Today team shared kind words for Gifford on social media. Savannah Guthrie, who co-anchors the show with Kotb, called Gifford "a true pro, a true legend, a true friend".

Contributor Jenna Bush Hager wrote: "We adore you KLG. Thanks for your love, friendship and for your hilarity. You will be dearly missed."

Kotb shared another homage to her co-host on Twitter, writing: "I had a chance to work with a legend... not something many people get to say in their lifetime... but thanks to you @KathieLGifford."

Gifford's announcement comes a year after Matt Lauer was fired from the Today show due to accusations of sexual misconduct.

She was originally set to leave the show at the end of 2017 to focus on film projects, but Lauer's firing in November of that year changed her plans, Gifford previously told People.

“You get to a point of your life where you run out of time to do what you want to do,” Gifford told the magazine, before explaining that she decided to stay after the network accommodated her schedule.

In 2018, Gifford travelled to Scotland to star in Love Me to Death, a film she wrote. The movie, which tells the story of a widow planning a trip around the world, also stars Scottish-American TV host Craig Ferguson.