Oprah Irreplaceable, Says Sherri Shepherd

Oprah Winfrey shocked the television world with Friday's announcement she was ending her daily talk show in 2011, after its 25th season.

Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on a cable network to be called "OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network," a 50-50 joint venture with
Discovery Communications expected to debut in January 2011 and reach some 80 million homes.

So, what lies ahead for her?

Not a decrease in her influence, or anyone evolving into a replacement for Winfrey, according to Sherri Shepherd, a co-host of "The View" and friend of Winfrey's.

Shepherd, the author of "Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Give Herself a Break," observed on "The Early Show Saturday Edition" that, "There is nobody who can take Oprah's place. No matter who they bring up, they're always gonna compare them to Oprah. If it's a man, 'Can he be the next Oprah?' If it's a woman, if it's a young woman, a young black woman, a white woman, nobody is going to take Oprah's place. They're just gonna hafta bring what they bring."

Shepherd told co-anchor Erica Hill that, despite not being on the air every day anymore after "The Oprah Winfrey Show" fades to black, "I think Oprah can still have the same impact. I think it's going to be exciting for her, because she can do whatever she wants. It's her network! Nobody's gonna give her flack, because it's her network. So, I'm really excited about this chapter of Oprah's journey."

Shepherd says she has "a very specific memory of every time Oprah was on the show. I went through my hair problems with Oprah when Oprah had big hair. I had big hair. When her weight loss -- Oprah made it OK for me to deal with my weight, because I think everybody remembers her carrying the weight and all of that fat in the red wagon.

"And when she opened herself up to the world, it was like she was talking to me and Oprah was telling my story. And I love that about Oprah. Also, I love ... that she took a stand and she stepped away from the trash, tabloidy-type TV shows, and she said, 'I want to make an impact on the world.' "

"What is it specifically about Oprah," Hill wondered, "that makes everybody think, 'You know what? She gets me and I get her.' "

"She just has this way of looking at you deep inside your soul," Shepherd replied. "And it's like Oprah knows you and it's like Oprah is you. Very few people that can do that ... can relate to so many different people like Oprah can. I know she does that for me. I feel like she's telling my story all the time."