Shaloub: It's time for 'Monk' to end

Tony Shaloub has confirmed that the current season of Monk will be the last but insisted that he is happy to move on from the show.

The 55-year-old actor, who has starred as private detective Adrian Monk since 2002, told The AP that the programme has run its natural course.

"It's a great job, and I work with great people, and I really enjoy doing the character, but I think eight years is enough," he said.

"I think we've kind of explored all the avenues we could possibly cover, and as much as I like the show and working on it, I really do want to think about moving on to whatever the next chapter might be."

Shaloub, who also produces Monk, was nominated for his role in the programme at Sunday's Golden Globes but lost out to Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock.

It was reported last year that the eighth season of the USA Network show would be the last, with creative reasons and rising production costs cited as a dominant factor in bringing it to an end.