Oprah Winfrey has admitted she may be ending the most famous daytime TV show in history.
The talkshow queen’s contract is due to expire in 2011, her 25th year on the air, and Oprah stunned fans by saying she will decide soon if she will continue it.
Until the announcement, it had never crossed anyone’s minds Oprah may end her show.
Industry insiders believe the daily grind may now be too much for her – and also believe she may be interested in taking total control of the cable channel she is launching, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Winfrey spokesman Don Halcombe denied a definitive plan exists: “She has not made a decision yet.”
Leslie Moonves, the Chief Executive of CBS, which runs Oprah’s current show, insists the channel is desperate to keep her.
“She’s a legend,” he said. “We will probably know in a couple of months. We’re in dialogue.”
It’s not the first time Oprah, now 53 and one of the richest people in the country, has gone through a public will-she-or-won’t-she drama over retirement.
In 1997 and again in 2002, Oprah said she was thinking seriously about leaving her show – but both times renewed her contract for several more years.