It has been very influential in the way people view breakfast television and weekend type shows.

Chris Longridge, Heat magazine

A host of celebrities were on hand to say farewell to the show including stars from EastEnders, Royle Family actor Ralf Little, comedian Johnny Vegas and garage collective So Solid Crew.

A letter purporting to be from the Prince of Wales was also read out live on the show by presenter Richard Bacon, which congratulated the show for entertaining the nation for so long and wishing everyone luck with the future.

"For the last 10 years, The Big Breakfast has amused and entertained a great number of people," it said.

The Big Breakfast was a massive success when it first started however a slump in audience figures forced Channel 4 to axe the show.

BSkyB and Princess Productions have been commissioned to make a replacement programme, which is due to start in April.

Distinctive brand

The Big Breakfast started in 1992 with presenters Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin.

Its distinctive brand of interviews, gossip and celebrities became an instant hit, with audiences of more than two million.

Heat magazine's Chris Longridge said the Big Breakfast was the first of a kind.

He said: "When The Big Breakfast was first launched there had been nothing like that kind of TV since Tiswas.

Gaby Roslin and Paula Yates were original presenters

"It was the first of the breakfast shows to really go popular, to lose the stuffiness and cosiness of sofa chat and just have fun."

The show's problems started when the original presenters left and a succession of temporary hosts including Rick Adams, Sharron Davies and Zoe Ball failed to halt the slide in ratings.

But lightening struck twice when the partnership of Johnny Vaughan and Denise Van Outen brought the viewers back.

Longridge said: "The chemistry between Gaby and Chris really worked, it was so watchable but unexpected.

'Joke'

"Johnny and Denise worked when they recaptured that spirit and added a certain sexiness."

"Tom Cruise was interviewed in the garden shed with Johnny Vaughan, no other show could do that.

Denise Van Outen hosted the show twice

"Absolute A-list celebrities were in on the joke, mucking about with presenters."

But again the ratings slid when the team of Vaughan and Van Outen was split up.

Vaughan carried on with two different hosts, Kelly Brook and Liza Tarbuck, and Van Outen also came back, but for an unsuccessful stint.

Another revamp brought new hosts, but no audience increase.

But its still struggled to attract 230,000 viewers, less than a quarter of the number who tune in to GMTV on ITV1.

Longridge said the show will be missed: "It has been very influential in the way people view breakfast television and weekend type shows. It had a great impact."