ABC's Jimmy Kimmel is set to join NBC's late-night hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien in returning to the airwaves in January.

Kimmel said he would take up his hosting duties and start broadcasting new shows Jan. 2 to save the jobs of other show staff members.

Jimmy Kimmel will return to his duties as late-night host despite the Hollywood writers' strike.
(Associated Press)

Kimmel, along with Leno, O'Brien and other hosts, had honoured the Hollywood writers' strike that began Nov. 5.

"Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work," Kimmel said in a statement released by ABC.

Kimmel said he supports friends and colleagues in the Writers Guild of America, who are striking over the issue of compensation for electronic rights.

Both Leno and O'Brien also will go back on air Jan. 2, but likely without their customary monologue.

Meanwhile, the WGA has proposed a deal that would allow David Letterman's show to return to the air on CBS.

It would involve a separate deal with Letterman's own production company to allow writers to work on the show.

No new talks are scheduled in the writers' strike.