Married British talk show hosts Richard and Judy, whose televised book club helped vault specific titles to bestseller status, are calling it quits.

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan announced on Friday that they will end their hit daytime talk show Richard & Judy in late 2008, when their contract ends with British broadcaster Channel 4.

"The program is still full of life, but we have taken the difficult decision to leave it on a high," Madeley said Friday.

"Next autumn, when the last series finishes, will mark almost exactly 20 years in this kind of daily programming.... We want the chance to launch other projects in broadcasting and writing while we are still young enough."

The couple said they will continue their successful book club, which has been likened to that of U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey's in its ability to spark a significant sales spike in any featured title.

Canadian Lori Lansens was among the authors featured by the couple.

A spokesman for Madeley and Finnigan — who reportedly each earn £1 million a year ($1.95 million Cdn) with their current gig — said that they are in talks with Channel 4 to present a series specifically dedicated to their successful book club, to do literary specials and to continue hosting the British Book Awards.

This summer, the couple's program was among the shows named in a widespread phone-in contest scandal that hit a host of U.K. broadcasters.

It was revealed that more than two million callers telephoning in to an on-air competition had no real chance of winning.

Though the couple was not implicated, the company behind a quiz featured on their show was eventually fined £150,000 by the country's broadcast regulator.