Craig Ferguson stepping down from “The Late Late Show” in December

The late-night shakeup at CBS continues. In the wake of David Letterman announcing his upcoming retirement from Late Show, and the announcement that Stephen Colbert will take his place, last night Craig Ferguson, during the taping of The Late Late Show, announced his plans to step down as host this December. Ferguson has hosted the program since 2005. During the announcement, the host quipped that he might go into carpentry.

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“CBS and I are not getting divorced,” said Ferguson in a release, “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.”

“During his 10 years as host, Craig has elevated CBS to new creative and competitive heights at 12:30,” said Nina Tassler, Chairman, CBS Entertainment. “He infused the broadcast with tremendous energy, unique comedy, insightful interviews and some of the most heartfelt monologues seen on television. … Craig’s versatile talents as a writer, producer, actor and comedian speak to his great days ahead. While we’ll miss Craig and can’t thank him enough for his contributions to both the show and the Network, we respect his decision to move on, and we look forward to celebrating his final broadcasts during the next eight months.”

Some people had speculated Ferguson’s departure might be imminent once he was not given Letterman’s job. Now pundits may proceed to ponder over who will replace Ferguson.

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© 2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Lisette M. Azar