Oprah Show to end in 2011

Oprah Winfrey’s talk show is ending.

The TV star has hosted The Oprah Winfrey Show since 1986, but its last episode will air in 2011 after 25 seasons. A spokeswoman for production company Harpo Productions Inc. confirmed the programme was finishing but refused to give further details, saying Oprah will announce the date of her final show on-air today.

The spokeswoman added The Oprah Winfrey Show won’t be moving to a cable channel.

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes the iconic talk show, said in a statement: “We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavours. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.”

It has been reported Oprah, 55, is ending the programme to focus on her own TV network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). It is expected she will host a new talk show on the network, which will be based in Los Angeles and reach 70 million US homes.

There have also been claims she may move into politics, following her support for US President Barack Obama in the recent American presidential race.

Oprah has built a multi-million dollar business empire out of her talk show, including a magazine and book club as well as her production company. Earlier this year, Forbes named her the 45th most powerful person in the world.

Her latest season has seen a string of big-name stars reveal all, with Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield both taking to the couch. It was also Oprah who Whitney Houston turned to when she decided to reveal all about her years of drug abuse ahead of her recent return to the music industry.

“I came from nothing,” Oprah wrote in her book Journey to Beloved. “No power. No money. Not even my thoughts were my own. I had no free will. No voice. Now, I have the freedom, power, and will to speak to millions every day -- having come from nowhere.”