NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: NBC’s ‘Today’ host Craig Melvin recently goes missing from the morning show ‘Today 3rd Hour’ segment as rare host Keir Simmons fills in his seat.

The 44-year-old TV personality was reportedly seen absent as co-hosts Al Roker and Sheinelle Jones remained in their seats. While ‘Today’ fans encountered a rare and new face on the show, they were curious to know the whereabouts of Melvin. Besides him, Dylan Dreyer was also missing from the segment, however, her replacement was not filled in by any other hosts.

Who is Keir Simmons?

Keir Simmons is a highly respected British journalist and television presenter known for his work as an NBC News correspondent. He has been in association with NBC’s ‘Today’ as a senior international correspondent since 2018 and has appeared regularly on evening broadcast shows such as ‘Nightly News’. Born on February 22, 1972, Simmons is married to Jessica Binns and the couple share two children. He has been nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Where is ‘Today’ Craig Melvin?

On Monday, July 17 ‘Today’ broadcast, host Al Roker and Sheinelle Jones welcomed new host, Keir Simmons. The three kicked off the ‘Today 3rd Hour’ segment as Roker greeted and introduced Simmons to the viewers adding, “Welcome to the Third Hour of Today. Good to see you. I'm Al, along with Sheinelle.” He continued, “Dylan and Craig are off, but we've got, all the way from Jolly ol' England, Keir Simmons! Good to see you, my friend.” Simmons chucked and replied, “I've got to say, I feel much more comfortable here than in Russia.”

Meanwhile, Sheinelle Jones temporarily filled in as the host for the first part of the show. Dylan Dreyer was also absent, no specific reason was given for Melvin's absence. Even the hosts did not address the reason behind Melvin’s unexpected absence. The whereabouts of Melvin and his return date remain unclear.

Craig Melvin throws shade at Sheinelle Jones

Before Craig was absent, he faced criticism for putting his co-host Jones in a difficult position during a segment on summer car safety. Jones shared a personal story about encountering an issue on a road trip, where she hit a pothole and realized her car didn't have a spare tire. Vicky Nguyen, another guest on the show, mentioned that many newer cars no longer come with spare tires. Jones expressed that she learned this the hard way. She said, “We were on our way upstate, and I hit a pothole, it was not my fault.”

During Jones’s story, Roker made a joke, “The pothole just jumped out at you.” Jones laughed and mentioned that when she opened the trunk of her car, there was no spare tire. Craig then asked Jones, “Had there been a spare, would you have been able to change it?” Jones snapped back, “No, but I could have called somebody!" Vicky jokingly added, “Yeah, it would have been a step in the right direction.”