Craig Ferguson Announces He Will Be Leaving ‘Late Late Show’ In December (VIDEO)

Today is a sad for originality, fake horses and gay robots. Craig Ferguson announced last night on his show that he would be stepping down as host in December.

He told the audience that he had actually planned to retire from the show two years ago. He had been the host for eight years, and he felt that it was time to leave. But then he explained how CBS lured him back in with a fancy new studio…

“About two years ago, I had decided after eight years…that it was probably time for me to move on and do something else. And CBS came to me at that time and said, ‘Well, you could hang around and we’ll give you a fancy new studio and a podium for your gay robot skeleton and a stable for your horse and an invisible band behind a curtain. We’ll give you all the trappings of late‑night television.'”

Ferguson couldn’t turn down the offer of a new studio. Anyone who watched his show before he arrived at the new studio knows just how much he complained about the old one. The lighting was horrible, the audience members were packed in like sardines and the roof would leak every single time it rained.

So Ferguson decided to extend his contract for two more years to give the new studio a shot. His contract will be up at the end of this year, which is why he plans to step down this December.

“I’ll be stepping down at the end of this year, in December. Then I’ll go and do something else, probably, I’m thinking carpentry, but I haven’t made my mind up yet. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but I feel doing this show for 10 years, that’s enough.”

He also wanted to make it clear that this is not a “Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien” situation. He wasn’t pushed out by CBS.

“This is not Jay [Leno], Conan [O’Brien] of NBC.  This is not Dave [Letterman] and Jay all these years ago. It’s not that. [CBS] been great with me. I have a good relationship with them. I’m still in business with them on other stuff, so please don’t picket them or go up to CBS with flaming torches, unless you’re angry at me, then, you know, get in line.”

Well, this stinks. You knew someone as talented as Craig Ferguson wouldn’t stay in one place for too long, but he’s still going to miss. He is original, clever and his interviews with celebrities were always the best. Instead of a 10-minute promotion for their movie, Craig would force them to come out of their shell.

Hopefully we continue to see more of Mr. Ferguson in the future, and yes, we will miss Geoff Peterson as well.