TAIPEI • Closing an era of Taiwanese television, Mr Con & Ms Csi hosts Kevin Tsai and Dee Hsu packed up each other's portraits on the set of the talk show, walked to the stage door hand in hand and took one last bow as Tsai said a teary goodbye.

The two-part finale, which aired in Taiwan and Singapore on Wednesday and Thursday, was taped with the pair in a bed, reacting to reels from the last 12 years when the cosy, wacky chat show attracted a large following in the Chinese- speaking world.

Tsai, Hsu and Chen Han-dian - the third host who, for years, was the long-suffering court jester to the duo and their guests - were emotional during the finale, which followed a penultimate episode where Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and her boyfriend, actor Li Chen, sat down with Tsai and Hsu.

At one point in the finale, Tsai said he felt guilty about all the food episodes, in which Chen was too busy serving dishes to taste anything, reported ETToday website. "Han-dian didn't come here to be a waiter," Tsai said, as both men cried. They infuriated a dry-eyed Hsu, however, who told Tsai to stop weeping. Amid more tears and laughs, Chen was the first to leave the set in the final hour.

Tsai thanked fans for watching the show not only on television but also on less traditional platforms. He said the show was "a most unique moment" in the history of television, as people started watching it on computers and smartphones.

"You spent 12 years with us. Such a thing won't happen again, so this show is owned by everyone, together with us. It wasn't created by Dee and me. Thank you for accompanying us. Now, we're turning off the studio lights."

• The final episode of Mr Con & Ms Csi can be watched through catch-up TV on CTI TV (StarHub TV Channel 827) till Jan 20.