Regis Philbin is retiring from his show.
The veteran TV star delivered the news at the start of Live With Regis and Kelly which he has hosted for more than a quarter of a century, most recently co-presenting with Kelly Ripa.
“I don’t want to alarm anybody,” the 79-year-old said, then revealed: “This will be my last year on the show.”
Regis told viewers he would be stepping down from the show around the end of the summer, but didn’t specify a departure date.
His brief remarks came during the show’s off-the-cuff ‘host chat’ after he and Kelly had discussed the Golden Globes, football and the icy weather outside.
“It’s been a long time, it’s been 28 years,” Regis said of his current show.
“It was the biggest thrill of my life to come back to New York, where I grew up as a kid watching TV in the early days, you know, never even dreaming that I would one day have the ability, or whatever it takes, to get in front of the camera and talk to it.”
He added: “There is a time that everything must come to an end for certain people on camera – especially certain old people!”
The show’s distributors, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, said the Live franchise will continue and a new co-host will be named to join Kelly, who marks 10 years with the show next month.
But Regis, referring to his time left on the show, assured viewers: “We’ll have a lot of fun between now and then.”
