By Holly Byrnes

THE queen of TV, Oprah Winfrey, has announced her talk show will come to an end on September 9, 2011.

The daytime diva and celebrity favourite reportedly told staff of the end date, with her audience to be told during a taping today.

It confirms speculation she would not renew her contract with network CBS, instead develop productions for new Discovery channel, OWN.

US entertainment blog, Deadline Hollywood, revealed the plans earlier this month, after a senior staffer at Winfrey’s Harpo Productions was made the chief creative officer of OWN paving the way for the future association.

The 2011 finale will mark 25 years of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which became a benchmark for talk show and confessional television.

The “pulpit” platform raised Winfrey up from the ranks of syndicated regional US television to take on and ultimately defeat talk king, Phil Donohue.

Her Harpo empire included O magazine, launched the careers of Dr Phil McGraw, Dr Oz Mehmet and helped raise the profile of Australian garden guru Jamie Durie and expert organiser Peter Walsh.

The next move will also see her relocate her business base to Los Angeles.

Forbes estimated Winfrey’s wealth at $2.3 billion.