Craig Ferguson to Bid Farewell to ‘The Late Late Show’

Craig Ferguson
Only a couple of months past Jay Leno’s retirement, and only a couple of weeks after David Letterman announced his plans to leave late-night TV next year, Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson (PeekYou profile here) — Dave’s longstanding TV follow-up — has made known his intention to step down as the host of CBSThe Late Late Show, at the end of 2014.

Without much in the way of hubbub or controversy — and with only the very occasional viral video — the smart, personable, and hilarious Ferguson has managed to quietly pull respectable ratings from a dedicated cult audience for over 9 years now.

Ferguson was careful to stress that his decision to leave the show had nothing to do with the impending departure of his lead-in, Letterman; whose production company, Worldwide Pants, are also behind The Late Late Show. He insists that he was gearing up to announce his departure prior to Dave making his own intentions known.

Invoking Gwyneth Paltrow’s and Chris Martin’s announcement of earlier this spring, Ferguson said in a statement:

“CBS and I are not getting divorced, we are ‘consciously uncoupling,’ but we will still spend holidays together and share custody of the fake horse and robot skeleton, both of whom we love very much.”

He told his studio audience on Monday, “At the end of this year I will be stepping down as the host of the show. Then I’ll go and do something else, probably I’m thinking carpentry. But I haven’t made my mind up yet.”

You can see the announcement below, and you can keep up with his life and career — both to date, and henceforth — by following the many links to be found on his PeekYou profile.