The Oprah Winfrey Show creaks towards its final airing, the world has divided into those who don't want the chat show queen to leave, those who can't wait to get shot of her

As The Oprah Winfrey Show creaks towards its final airing, the world has divided into those who don't want the chat show queen to leave, those who can't wait to get shot of her and those who haven't realised what Oprah is up to.
With a quarter-century of five-slots-a-week presenting under her belt, and a $2.5 billion fortune to show for it, the
54-year-old could have retired to her grand northern California estate, there to luxuriate on the sunny terrace of her faux Georgian mansion, thinking of how far she'd travelled from a poor upbringing in rural Mississippi.
Such a scenario appears not to have entered Oprah's thinking. Far from marking the end of her epic career, the wrapping up of the chat show signals the start of the even bigger adventure she's been thirsting after for years. The aim now is to become the world's first one-woman television network, and beyond that, the centre of a global lifestyle franchise. And although she has the pedigree, the star power and the financial backing, the odds appear heavily stacked against her succeeding.
Every day last week, thousands of viewers left heartfelt messages on Oprah's website, already one of the world's most visited. "I never could afford a psychologist or therapy," wrote one fan, "and you have been that for me! I am so going to miss our daily sessions." Another pleaded: "How can we repay you for all you have done for us, mentally, physically and emotionally? What you have done for us is priceless. We don't want you to go, but we must cut the umbilical cord and let you soar into your next destiny. We pray for your peace and serenity as you venture into this new phase of your life."
Yet behind these fond sentiments lie some harsh realities. Oprah's ratings have been sliding for years, and while no show can expect to maintain its popularity indefinitely, there swirls around it a sense of outdatedness, even obsolescence. The once-heady mix of emotional voyeurism, cod psychology and mother-lode mentoring which played so well in the Eighties has proved less suited to today's climate of recession, insecurity and war-weariness.

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