An emotional Oprah Winfrey took to the stage alone for the final episode of her US talk show, talking to viewers about what they have meant to her during its 25-year run.
Fans leaving last night's show recorded in Chicago, which will be shown today, said Winfrey had tears in her eyes as she said a final thank you.
Winfrey then kissed and hugged her long-time partner Stedman Graham and made her way through the halls of Harpo Studios, saying goodbye to her staff, audience members said. She kept saying, "We did it! We did it!," Ms Korin said, and giving employees high-fives.
There was a single chair on the stage, but Winfrey stood most of the time, audience members said. Audience members described a simply-produced series finale filled with a sense of gratitude.
"It was just her the whole time, a recap of what she believed in, what we've given her as viewers and what she hopes she has given us," said Nancy Evankoe (60), who went to the recording with her daughter.
Winfrey announced in November 2009 that she would end her popular talk show after 25 years and yesterday's taping comes a week after Hollywood's A-list and 13,000 fans bid her farewell during a double-episode extravaganza at Chicago's United Centre.
The shows included Aretha Franklin, Tom Cruise, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jordan and Madonna, among other stars of television, music and movies.
The bare-bones final taping had its share of celebrities in the audience including Tyler Perry, Maria Shriver, Suze Orman and Cicely Tyson, but none of them joined Winfrey on stage. There were 404 audience members, according to Harpo Productions.
Hundreds of giddy fans struck by their luck at getting tickets for the final show had gathered outside Winfrey's television studio in Chicago yesterday morning.
The finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show has remained a secret, even as Harpo Studios hyped it as a television event.
In a promotional video posted online May 16th, clips of famous television finales play over a sad song with the lyrics "It's hard to say goodbye". It includes Mary Tyler Moore, Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, Mash, The Cosby Show, and Cheers.
When Winfrey announced her show would end she promised viewers she would use the final season to "knock your socks off". On her 25th and final season premiere she danced on stage with John Travolta and told everyone in the audience they were going to Australia.
Other season highlights included interviews with US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, former president George Bush and Michael Jackson's family. Winfrey also revealed she found a sister who her mother gave up for adoption.
Already a television journalist, Winfrey came to Chicago in 1984 to WLS-TV's morning talk show, AM Chicago. A month later the show was number one in the market and a year later it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Winfrey opened Harpo Studios on Chicago's West Loop neighbourhood in 1990. On January 1st this year she launched the Oprah Winfrey Network, which is based in Los Angeles.
PA