Jimmy Kimmel fears he might regret retiring from his talk show, if he ever pulls the plug on the program.

The 58-year-old star has fronted his late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, and he doesn't ever want to retire from the series and then attempt to make a "lesser comeback" afterwards "trying to do the same thing".

Quizzed on whether he fears he might one day regret ending his talk show if he retires, he told Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast: "I do. I know people who've been in that situation.

"It's funny. People make a big show of like, 'I am done and I am tired doing this,' and then they make a lesser comeback trying to do the same thing.

"And that's always a bummer. And I always look at that and go, 'Oh, is that going to be me?'

"Do you ever think to yourself, 'How would I explain this to me at 25 years old, just giving up, just letting it go?'

"I know that 25-year-old me will be like, 'Are you crazy?' I would have just been so excited to work at a place that had a snack table that was free."

But Kimmel insisted he will "never" stop "doing things", admitting he will just work in a "different scenario".

He appeared on the podcast alongside his wife of 13 years, Molly McNearney, who is an executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Molly has conflicting views about the show's future, admitting she would be "happy" to be finished with it, but she also wants Jimmy to "keep fighting".

She added: "I would be happy to be done with the show and end it in a great way and do my own next thing. But I do care deeply about that show and the people who work there, and I think the voice is really important right now.

"It definitely appeals to me, for the nervous system of the household, but I also feel Jimmy has like a fly rod in one hand and like a torch in the other right now.

"It's like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting, and I feel this sense of desire to not quit because I think what he's doing is incredibly important right now."