Good Morning America Plans Fill-Ins for Robin Roberts' Medical Leave
Robin Roberts
"I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here!" Robin Roberts declared Thursday at the Television Critics Association fall TV previews.
The Good Morning America newscaster was in high spirits, joking with reporters about her upcoming medical leave to undergo a bone-marrow transplant sometime around late August or early September. She revealed that ABC News' Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters and Katie Couric would be filling in during her absence. "I will be happy to help out," Couric later confirmed during a preview of her new talk show Katie.
Robin Roberts has rare blood disorder, will have bone marrow transplant
GMA executive producer Tom Cibrowski added that the women of The View have also offered to "pitch in." Kelly Ripa is also being considered as a substitute.
Roberts admitted to feeling "moments of fatigue" during the treatment to prep for the transplant and described the process as "fascinating-scary."
In June, Roberts revealed that she had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a blood and bone marrow disease once known as preleukemia. Her sister Sally-Ann Roberts, a news anchor in New Orleans, will donate her matching bone marrow for the transplant.