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Craig Ferguson To Step Down As Host Of 'Late Late Night'

By Maurice Bobb

Looks like CBS is on the search for another late-night host.

Craig Ferguson, longtime host of "The Late Late Show," has announced that he will step down as the show's compere in December 2014, when his contract with the network expires.

According to a CBS press release, Ferguson broke the news to his studio audience during the taping of Monday’s (April 28) show, which features Candice Accola and LL Cool J.

The Scottish-born comedian's announcement comes just one month after David Letterman announced his retirement from "The Late Show" and two weeks after CBS named Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert as his successor.

Ferguson has served as Letterman's late-night companion in the 12:35 a.m. slot for nearly a decade. Variety reports that his decision to bow out was expected since CBS went in another direction with Letterman's replacement.

Ferguson carved a nice latenight niche for himself with his zany one-liners and signature monoloques.

Ferguson was nominated for an Emmy in 2006 and won a Peabody Award in 2010 for his hosting talents and was nominated for a Grammy for his comedy album "I’m Here to Help" this year.

Ferguson is set to host a new game show called, "Celebrity Name Game", which debuts this fall. The team-based game show is based on the board game "Identity Crisis" and was created by Courteney Cox and David Arquette.