Ellen DeGeneres has revealed that the final episode of her talk show has been filmed, saying it has been “the greatest privilege” of her life to host the series for almost 20 years.

After 19 seasons, The Ellen DeGeneres Show will end on 26 May following the 64-year-old presenter’s announcement in 2021 that she was stepping down.

It came following claims of an alleged toxic workplace environment and after three producers left the series, although the comedian has denied this is the reason she has called it a day.

DeGeneres shared a photo from her final day on set on social media.

“When we started this show in 2003, the iPhone didn’t exist,” she said. “Social Media didn’t exist. Gay marriage wasn’t legal. We watched the world change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

“But whatever was happening, my goal was always for the show to be a place where we could all come together and laugh for an hour.

“Being invited into your lives has been the greatest privilege of my life and has brought me incredible joy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

The show premiered in 2003 at NBC Studios and later moved to Warner Bros Studios, with a stage there later being dedicated to DeGeneres.

Featuring more than 4,000 guests in its almost two decades on air, it put some of the biggest names in the entertainment world and beyond in the hot seat, from Jennifer Aniston, Taylor Swift, Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears, to Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The show also became famous for its young guests – in particular Nicki Minaj super fans Sophia Grace and Rosie – and in recent months hosted Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who talked about her children’s Halloween costumes (Archie – dinosaur; Lilibet – a “little skunk like Flower from Bambi”).

In 2019, DeGeneres also went viral for her interview with Dakota Johnson, after the actress appeared to call the presenter out for telling porkies about not being invited to her birthday party.

Awkward.

After the chat show officially ends, it will “continue to air guest host shows, compilation shows, and repeats during the summer months on affiliate stations”.

DeGeneres marking her final programme comes as fellow talk show host James Corden revealed he will step down from The Late Late Show next year.

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