Oprah Winfrey Show to end in 2011
Oprah Winfrey Show to end in 2011
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Friday, 20, Nov 2009 09:19
By Richard James.
Oprah Winfrey, the highest-paid TV personality in the US, is set to announce her famous chatshow is due to come to an end in under two years.
Reports suggest the 55-year-old told staff in Chicago the Oprah Winfrey Show would end in September 2011, during its 25th season.
The popular talkshow was first aired in the US in 1986 and has gone on to become one of the most-watched and influential entertainment shows on air.
Constantly voted the most powerful TV personality in America, Oprah has seen her popularity rocket since she first took to the air and now her every move attracts widespread attention.
Last year she very publicly backed Barack Obama in his campaign for the White House.
On Thursday Tim Bennett, president of her production company Harpo - Oprah spelt backwards - wrote to advertisers saying: "Tomorrow [Friday], Oprah will announce live on the show that she has decided to end what is arguably one of the most popular, influential and enduring programmes in television history."
It is believed the end of the show will allow Oprah to transfer her energies to her forthcoming cable channel.
In her 23 years on air, the 55-year-old has moved from being a chatshow host, to a media personality, to a brand in her own right.
The power of her show and the influence her actions can have on 42 million viewers every week and the wider American public has been witnessed on numerous occasions during the last two decades.
Some of the most famous incidents on her show include Tom Cruise's much-ridiculed declaration of his love for Katie Holmes and the late Michael Jackson attacking his critics over his reports on alleged plastic surgery.