Ann Curry 'Tortured': Why Were Ann Curry's Final Days With NBC's 'Today' Show So Miserable?

Former NBC 'Today' co-host Ann Curry told many of her closest friends that her final days with the program were "professional torture," according to a story released by TV Guide.

In the book 'Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV,' Curry recalls her last few days at the network, noting how cruel many of her co-workers were toward her.

Written by New York Times reporter Brian Stelter, excerpts from his book say that the driving force behind the removal of Curry from the show was 'Today' executive producer Jim Bell, as the LA Times reported. It is also reported that the plan to get rid of Curry was referred to as Operation Bambi because according to the LA Times, removing Curry from the staff would be like shooting Bambi.

Along with putting together a blooper-reel of Curry's mistakes, the book goes on to note that Jim Bell put together a picture set comparing Curry in a yellow dress to Big Bird, a character from the kids television program 'Sesame Street.'

These are pretty harsh words and actions against someone who was at one time a highly regarded anchor for Dateline NBC. Curry held the Dateline position from 2005 to 2011 before taking a job as a National and International Correspondent for NBC News.

"Curry felt that the boy's club atmosphere behind the scenes at 'Today' undermined her from the start," a segment from the book notes according to TV Guide. "One staff person recalled that a lot of the time in the control room was spent making fun of Ann's outfit choices or just generally messing with her."

TV Guide also reported that a source involved in helping Stelter put together the book noted that once the chemistry between Curry and former co-host Matt Lauer was seen as non-existent, the moves to force Curry out began.

Upon the removal of the 56-year-old reporter from her post on the show, executive producer Bell reportedly took senior producers to a restaurant to celebrate Curry's dismissal.

Curry is still employed by NBC and works with the NBC News program, but she has not seen a consistent workload since her time on 'Today' came to a close.