The daytime chat is over as Richard and Judy's C4 show is axed

The decision follows a dip in ratings and the phone-in scandal over the programme's You Say We Pay quiz earlier this year.

Husband-and-wife presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan were also upset when Channel 4 cut back their shows to make way for Paul O'Grady's arrival.

The decision to end their daytime chat show, said to be by mutual consent between Channel 4 and the duo, comes six years after they joined the channel.

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It marks the end of the era for the couple who found fame hosting ITV's This Morning in 1988.

Madeley, who plans a solo TV career, said: "We want the chance to launch other projects in broadcasting and writing."

Ever since the pair defected to Channel 4 in 2001 there has been constant speculation about the show's future.

Desperate to refresh its schedule, Channel 4 has been looking for opportunities to replace longrunning shows, having already dumped Celebrity Big Brother.

Richard and Judy were upset when it drastically cut the number of shows it made with them after poaching Paul O'Grady from ITV in 2006 to alternate in the same 5pm slot.

They are also said to be keen to move away from the daytime sofa after two decades to work on new projects.

A friend of the pair said: "They have taken the show as far as they wanted to and they want to take on fresh challenges."

Channel 4 insiders said, however, that the show was unlikely to have been recommissioned anyway.

There will be two final series next year, following the usual pattern of a ten-week run at the beginning of the year and again in the summer, before the couple bow out.

The pair are on air with the programme for 20 weeks of the year, while O'Grady's show takes the hour-long slot for the remaining 26 weeks. At the moment O'Grady is occupying the slot.

Richard and Judy will carry on working in broadcasting.

The duo will continue to present a book club series and specials on C4 including A Summer Read and The British Book Awards.

They are also planning to develop other projects with producers.

While Madeley, 51, is expected to carry on with a heavy workload, 59-year-old Miss Finnigan is expected to cut down her commitments.

The couple are among Channel 4's highest earners, pocketing over £1million a year each.

The last series of Richard & Judy attracted on average 1.7million viewers daily, down from 2million last year.

The couple were left deeply embarrassed in February after revelations that the You Say We Pay quiz had been fleecing viewers out of tens of thousands of pounds.

Channel 4 was forced to hand money back to viewers.

Although they had been unaware of the phone-in scandal, Richard and Judy had to deliver a humiliating on-air apology.

The decision for the presenters to go comes after major schedule discussions with Channel 4 bosses.

New programming chief Julian Bellamy wants a "creative renewal" of the schedules.

A source close to the broadcaster said the programme had reached the end of its shelf-life and this was a natural breaking point of the end of the contract.

The poaching of O'Grady is said to have marked the beginning of the end for Richard and Judy's show. An insider said they had been very upset by the move.

A spokesman for the couple said: "After 20 years of presenting live, daytime television, Richard and Judy have called time on their Channel 4 teatime show.

"They will step down at the end of next year when their current contract comes to an end."

The pair had a short-lived early evening chat show in 1996 called Tonight with Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, which only lasted for one series.

The first guest on the show was OJ Simpson, giving his only TV interview after he was cleared of murdering his ex-wife Nicole.

Bo Derek was also meant to appear on the programme but pulled after learning Simpson was taking part. <