Ellen Degeneres has been picked as the host of next years Academy Awards ceremony, as organisers look to boost ratings and eliminate any potential controversy with next year's show. DeGeneres was picked from a nearly-bottomless list of potential candidates, emerging as the safest bet and the host most likely to guarantee a decent audience turnaround when the show is aired next year.

Ellen Degeneres Arrested Development
Ellen will host the Oscars for a second time next year

As first reported by Variety, Ellen is by no means a stranger to the awards show-circuit, having previously hosted the 2001 and 2005 Emmys and the Oscars in 2007, all of which produced very strong viewer-ratings, a feat that the show's organisers will hope can be replicated when she takes on hosting duties at the 2014 Oscars. Whilst her last hosting job came more than half a decade ago, her popularity has shown no signs of diminishing and if anything, Ellen has become an even bigger name with each passing year and her appointment seems to mirror her ever-ascending success.

Ellen has seen much success with her Warner Bros. daytime talkshow Ellen, which recorded some of it's strongest viewer ratings in years during the current season. The show has scored an average of 3.35 million viewers in recent weeks, pushing it into second as the most watched daytime chat show in America, only slightly behind Dr Phil.

Ellen Degeneres
Her previous hosting job came in 2007

Ellen's record at hosting award shows is nearly flawless, with her first attempt at presenting such a prestigious event in 2001 proving to be a minor success despite facing serious setbacks at the time. The 2001 Emmys were postponed by two months until November in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, however her 2005 Emmy appearance went by much easily, averaging an un-matched 18.63 million viewers overall. Her 2007 hosting of the Oscars proved equally as fruitful, with her 40.18 million-overall viewing figures sitting third in the the list of top viewing figures in the last seven years, only behind 2010's 41.70 mil and 2013's 40.38 mil.

Ellen Degeneres & Portia De Rossi
Ellen and her partner Portia De Rossi at this years Emmys