Deborah Norville leaving ‘Inside Edition’ after 30 years

And it’s a wrap: Deborah Norville, the longtime host of “Inside Edition,” and former “Today” show co-anchor, announed Wednesday that she will leave the syndicated news magazine after a 30-year run.

 Her final program will be in May, the show confirmed.

In closing remarks on Wednesday’s edition — which were  also released by CBS Media Ventures, which distributes the program —  Norville said in part, “a milestone like this is a time for reflection, and on reflection, I have decided that now is the time to move on from ‘Inside Edition.’ They made me a lovely offer to stay, but there are things I’d like to do and places I want to do them that continuing here doesn’t permit. So, at the end of the season, I’ll be moving on. I’ve got some exciting things in the works, which I’ll talk about later, but what I want to say now is what a privilege it’s been to lead ‘Inside Edition’ for all these years.”

Launched on Jan. 9, 1989, the first host of “Inside Edition” was David Frost who lasted just three weeks. He was replaced by Bill O’Reilly, who was at the helm six years; O’Reilly wanted to get out of tabloid TV (and ultimately did, joining start-up Fox News Channel a year later, in 1996). After a short and controversial run at “Today” (where she replaced Jane Pauley) that ended in 1991, Norville joined CBS News, then became “Inside Edition” host in 1995. The show airs locally weekdays on WCBS/ 2 at 7 p.m.