Ann Curry shows new hairdo as she returns live TV for first time since Today show departure

Ann Curry showed her cropped short hair as she returned to live TV for the first time since she was axed from the Today show.

Wearing a crisp white blazer, Ann Curry, 56, looked happy to be back in the anchor chair as she hosted the NBC Nightly News, filling in for Brian Williams.

Ann Curry tweeted a picture of herself preparing for the broadcast, which prompted a flood of praise from excitable Curry fans.

She has appeared on NBC a handful of times since her awkward departure from the network’s flailing morning show last summer.

However, the appearances have mostly been pre-recorded segments for Brian Williams’ show Rock Center.

After tweeting: “From the set.. Getting ready to anchor @NBCNightlynews,” user chefbigham was quick to respond: “WooHoo!!!! You are the only reason to watch the news.”

Another fan, saseesandee wrote: “@anncurry YeeHaw, so lovely to see u back!”

Ann Curry’s noticeably shorter hair reportedly got her in trouble with network executives, after she lopped it off without permission from NBC, in what was labeled an act of defiance.

Amidst criticism over the journalist’s physical appearance by her former Today bosses, Ann Curry “just decided to cut it”, according to RadarOnline.com.

“Ann was always told by her bosses that her hair had to be long, and she just didn’t like to wear it at that length,” a source revealed.

“She is a no-fuss gal, and doesn’t want to spend a ton of time styling her hair. [So] she just decided to cut it.”

They continued: “It’s a much shorter style, and doesn’t take as long to do. Ann didn’t tell her bosses she was going to do it beforehand.”

Like many other networks, any NBC on-air talent is required to notify management before changes are made to their physical appearance.

But Ann Curry was often the victim of jokes at the hands of Today show executive producer Jim Bell, according to New York Times reporter Brian Selter’s new book, Top Of The Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV.

Brian Stelter reported that Jim Bell was an instigator to “a general meanness on set” toward the former Today co-host.

In the months leading up to her teary-eyed departure from the morning show last summer, Ann Curry is said to have been “tortured”.

In one instance, a yellow dress Ann Curry wore on air was pictured next to Big Bird, and was captioned: “Who Wore It Best?”