CTV's Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lloyd Robertson announced Thursday night that he will be stepping down from the anchor's chair sometime in the middle of 2011.

After 35 years as the network's national news anchor, Robertson made the announcement at the end of Thursday night's broadcast.

"I thought it was an appropriate way of letting you know that I have agreed to stay on for another TV season to make it 35 years at CTV," Robertson told viewers.

"But that will be the final year. That means I'll be stepping aside in the latter half of 2011. So, I'll be around for a while yet."

The network will announce Robertson's successor on Friday.

His successor will act as Robertson's immediate backup through 2011, and will take over as chief anchor later in the year.

"I want to leave a suitable period for my successor to have a smooth and seamless transition," said Robertson in a release issued late Thursday. "While I'll be hoisting anchor next year, I'll be continuing at CTV for some time."

In a career spanning 50 years, Robertson has become one of Canada's most recognizable public figures, ending his nightly newscast with his familiar sign off of "that's the kind of day it's been."

Robertson joined CTV in 1976 and has been chief anchor and senior editor since 1983. He was voted Canada's most trusted news anchor by TV Guide readers 11 years straight.

"Lloyd is a great newsman, an institution and the most trusted anchor in Canada; all of which is why he's the ratings king," said Ivan Fecan, President and Chief Executive Officer, CTV Globemedia, and Chief Executive Officer, CTV Inc.

"We are all sorry to see him step down as anchor, but we are buoyed by the fact that he will remain in the CTV family for as long as he likes and I personally hope that will be a very long time," Fecan added.

Though Robertson won't be in the news anchor chair, he will continue working with the network and will remain as co-host of the news features show W5.