Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is to be axed after Chris Tarrant has announced he will step down as host.

Tarrant said it was 'time to move on' from the TV quiz, having been with the show since its inception.

ITV has said there will be no further specials beyond the ones which have already been planned.

The game show was the first to offer viewers a chance to win a million pound prize (take the questions posed to the first top prize winner Judith Keppel by clicking here) and became a major hit around the world. It also inspired the multiple Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle..

Announcing his departure in a statement, the 67-year-old said: "It's been a huge part of my life for fifteen years and I've loved every minute of it, but it is time for me to move on from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

"It's been the most remarkable journey and I consider myself very fortunate to have been associated with Millionaire from its inception.

"ITV have been fantastic in their support from day one and to see its huge success has been thrilling."

The show was stripped across ITV's schedule when it launched in 1998 appearing daily and Tarrant proved be a master of building tension.

In recent years, it has been used more as a platform for fundraising celebrity specials.

Tarrant went on: "The calibre of the celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney, George Michael, Sir Alex Ferguson, Simon Cowell, Sir Tim Rice, Sir Terry Wogan, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, etc, is just one indication of how much this show has touched a nerve with everybody.

"But of course so much more rewarding for all of us has been, not just the celebrities or even the million-pound winners, but all of the ordinary men and women whose lives have been changed - sometimes forever - by being on the show.

"Thank you all for sitting opposite me. I am privileged to have been a part of it, but do now feel that it is time for me to call it a day.

"I've worked ridiculously hard these last few years and to quote myself, 'it's time to take a break'."

So this only pertains to the UK version, and not those of other countries (such as the US)?

I liked it when Regis Philbin hosted, I wasn't crazy about Meredith Viera.