TV talk show legend Ellen Degeneres has announced that she is ending her talk show after 19 seasons due to a year of controversy and PR issues.

The 63-year-old will host one final season, which is the 19th season of the show, before ending the series in 2022.

She said her reasoning for quitting was that it was "just not a challenge anymore".

“When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged. And as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Although all good things must come to an end, you still have hope that truly great things never will,” Warner Bros.’ unscripted TV president Mike Darnell told the publication. He added it was “an absolute phenomenon,” and the “premier destination for both superstars and incredible heartfelt human-interest stories.”

An insider confirmed that Ellen was willing to walk away in August.

“She feels she can’t go on and the only way to recover her personal brand from this is to shut down the show,” an insider told the Daily Mail.

“The truth is she knew what was going on, it’s her show. The buck stops with her. She can blame every executive under the sun – but Ellen is ultimately the one to blame.”

The controversy quickly began after a tweet in March went viral, claiming that she was "notoriously one of the meanest people alive".

Right now we all need a little kindness. You know, like Ellen Degeneres always talks about! 😊❤️

She’s also notoriously one of the meanest people alive

Respond to this with the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean & I’ll match every one w/ $2 to @LAFoodBank

— Kevin T. Porter (@KevinTPorter) March 20, 2020

More than 1,000 replies to the tweet had many detailing their experiences with her, which inspired staff to come forward with allegations of bullying.

Many weren't impressed with the way that she handled the controversy, pleading to fans that she was a "work in progress".

“As you may have heard this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show and then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that never should’ve happened,” she said.

“I take that very seriously, and I want to say I’m so sorry to the people who were affected.

“Sometimes I get sad. I get mad. I get anxious. I get frustrated. I get impatient. And I am working on all of that. I am a work in progress.

“And I am especially working on the impatience thing because … and it’s not going well because it’s not happening fast enough.”