meredith vieira

The 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC) crew learned that, during the royal wedding, Prince Harry gave a fuzzy toy worm to three-year-old bridesmaid Eliza Lopes as a way to distract her from the throngs of spectators. But Meredith Vieira seemed more concerned that the Prince had the toy in his pocket to begin with.

"So, the question is ..." Vieira said.

Meredith Vieira could leave 'Today' earlier than expected.

Although the co-anchor was expected to exit when her contract expires in September, a new story from The Hollywood Reporter says Vieira will likely leave in June.

According to THR, Ann Curry will take Vieira's place as co-anchor, and Natalie Morales will fill Curry's spot as the news reader. The magazine's inside source said there will be an official announcement shortly, probably sometime next week.

In other TV news ...

• NBC's long-in-the-can series 'Love Bites' finally has a premiere date. The show will debut Thu., June 2 at 10PM ET. [Vulture]

• Ed Asner will guest star on 'Royal Pains,' and Megan Good will stop by Showtime's 'Californication.' Asner will play Hank and Evan's grandfather on the USA series, while Good will guest as an up-and-coming hip-hop artist. [Deadline]

• Disney XD canceled its series 'I'm in the Band.' The kiddie show produced two seasons before its axing. [THR]

On 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC), Natalie Morales and correspondent Kate Maxwell meet up with Meredith Vieira at Archipelago Restaurant in London, an establishment known for unusual dining and also reportedly a favorite of Prince William's. While there, the ladies dine on an array of exotic food, including alligator, crickets and scorpions.

"You want to try a little alligator wrapped in a vine?" Vieira asked Morales. ""Stick it in your mouth."

Meredith Vieira will most likely step down as co-anchor of 'Today' when her contract expires in September, according to a new report from TV Guide.

Vieira is apparently "beloved" by the 'Today' cast and crew, but a combination of long, tiring hours and personal struggles (her husband is battling multiple sclerosis and cancer) are likely the reason why she'd leave. Vieira would only sign a one-year deal when her contract expired last year, and has been open about her husband's health problems.

However, NBC doesn't want to see her go. "NBC is doing everything they can to convince her to stay," an insider told TV Guide.

It was just a black leather keychain, but we'll excuse Meredith Vieira for thinking the item Russell Brand left in her dressing room on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM on NBC) during a previous visit was something slightly more sexual. After all, Brand is something of a self-admitted fetishist, and he's been known to enjoy yanking people's chains.

Back on the show today, Brand produced the keychain in question after saying he had recorded his voiceover for 'Hop' in the style of the title character rabbit, wearing no underwear or trousers.

"It seemed like some S&M thing, come on," said Vieira.

"It does," replied Brand. "It's interesting that that's where your mind went, Meredith. It's in fact an innocent keychain."

A couple of weeks ago, we gave you the list of the 100 most memorable female characters in TV history. There was lots of talk and conjecture among the readers about who we missed and who shouldn't have been there, which is why we do these lists to begin with.

But there were a fair number of people who asked us "Where's Ellen DeGeneres?" or "Where's Oprah?" among others. Well, since we were talking about TV characters and not real people, those folks had to be left off the list (And, yes, we know Ellen played a pretty important TV character ... more on this later.)

Fear not, loyal TV watchers. We've got a list for those of you who want to celebrate women who put themselves out there, have created a brand, or have made significant contributions to the current TV landscape as themselves and not a fictional character.

The list isn't in any particular order; after the first few obvious names, the rest of the women on this list come so close, it's hard to rank them. So we'll just start with TV's most accomplished woman (hint: her name starts with an O ... and it ain't Omarosa) and go from there.

Meredith Vieira should probably just start sitting on her hands from now on. Especially if she intends to continue working in a country that takes anything and everything in a sexual way. The FCC can't police our minds, and Vieira did nothing to help her case of innocence with her appearance on 'The Tonight Show' (Weeknights, 11:37PM ET on NBC).

Her troubles began on 'Today' when she interviewed Best Actor Oscar nominee Colin Firth, and then fellow nominee and Oscars host James Franco. When you're talking to a man, you really can't offer to polish anything of his. So even though she was innocently offering to polish his Oscar if he won -- which is an odd thing to offer anyway, Meredith -- dirty minds immediately went somewhere else.

A scary moment took place this morning on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC) when a man jumped the barricade while Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Willie Geist, who was filling in for Matt Lauer, reported from outside.

Although images of the incident weren't captured on camera, the man can clearly be heard storming the barricade that separates onlookers from the show's studio in Rockefeller Plaza in New York. Vieira shouts in surprise, and then the camera immediately cuts away to Ann Curry, who starts to read the news.

Love sometimes makes people do silly things, as Ann Curry showed us this morning on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC). During the show, Curry cupped her hands to her mouth and did a bird call, a skill she learned to impress a boy.

On 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC), Meredith Vieira promises to "polish" Colin Firth's Oscar should he win Best Actor for his role in 'The King's Speech.' But James Franco, who's competing against Firth in the same category for his role in '127 Hours,' seems to take exception to Vieira's obvious bias.

Take a tour through the past year of TV and relive some of the best moments the medium had to offer in our 10 Most Viewed Videos of the Year. We'd all do well to study these fan favorites and commit them to long-term memory. After all, someday our grandchildren might ask where we were when Terry Bradshaw sprang from a cake, when Helen Mirren showed up in a red bikini or when Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg walked off their own set. Okay, maybe not. But it's nice to dream.

Uh oh, Jack Black, you've got some explaining to do. It seems that Meredith Vieira was cast in Black's big screen adaptation of 'Gulliver's Travels,' but her scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Black apologizes profusely to Vieira while wearing a Santa hat on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC).

Dustin Hoffman, whose character learns how to flamenco in 'Little Fockers,' displays his skill at the Spanish dance with Meredith Vieira on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC).

This morning, 'Today' (Weekdays, 7AM on NBC) spotlighted the heartbreaking story of a mother and her two young children spending their third Christmas without their father, who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

'Today' was there to surprise the family with gifts and decorations to help cheer them up for the holiday, answering a letter the daughter Kayla had written to the show. (See the whole story here).

But 'Today's' good deed isn't what's bringing national attention to this story. Just as his mother was dotting her tears and explaining her holiday grief, her young son Keegan caught the holiday spirit and stole the show with an impromptu Christmas boogie.