Entertainment

Barbara Walters: Decision to retire was mine

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Barbara Walters says her retirement from TV — and from “The View” — is her own decision.

“I’m perfectly healthy . . . I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and this is what I want to do,” Walters, 83, said on yesterday’s “View,” after confirming her rumored retirement Sunday night in a press release.

“I will continue as a co-executive producer on ‘The View’ with Bill Geddie as long as the program is aired,” she added.

“I have a whole other year to do and I look forward to my last season. We have exciting things planned for ABC News and ‘The View.’ ”

Walters missed over a month of the show earlier this year after falling and sustaining a concussion — which coincided with a bout of chicken pox.

Walters and Geddie started “The View” in 1997, and it’s been a solid ratings winner for ABC’s daytime lineup ever since.

Walters will officially retire in the summer of 2014.

Original “View” co-anchor Joy Behar is leaving at the end of the current season.