TORONTO - MTV Canada says it's cancelling "The After Show" now that Jessi Cruickshank -- who co-hosted the hit program with Dan Levy -- is moving to Los Angeles for another job opportunity.

"We can't imagine doing 'The After Show' without both Dan and Jessi together; it just wouldn't be the same, so we are not renewing that show," Brad Schwartz, senior vice-president and general manager at Much MTV Group, CTV Inc., said Thursday.

"The show has been a huge success with fans and for the channel, but our very creative team is constantly working on new ideas at MTV. In fact, Dan will have his own exciting new show starting this fall and you won't want to miss that."

"The After Show," which was shot in Toronto, launched in 2006 and became a hit on both sides of the border through its satirical skits and commentary on reality series including "The Hills" and "The City."

The comical Cruickshank, who was born in Calgary and grew up in Vancouver, used her Twitter account Wednesday to announce to fans that she was leaving the show.

In a telephone interview Thursday, she was emotional about her departure.

"As I sit here in my empty apartment looking at boxes, I'm sad," she said, adding one of the hardest parts is leaving Levy.

"Dan and I were two kids who were plucked out of obscurity and put on television for the first time and we've been on this amazing kind of roller coaster together so leaving him has been really hard.

"But he's been so unbelievably gracious and supportive and I think it's going to give him an opportunity to do amazing things on his own."

Cruickshank, 27, couldn't reveal much about her new job, but said it's a "dream" television opportunity that came her way less than a month ago.

And no, it's not an acting gig or a stint on a reality show.

"A lot of people are like, 'Are you going to be Ginger in the new 'Gilligan's Island' movie?"' said the fetching Cruickshank, who has long, red hair and a razor-sharp wit.

"I can tell you that, no, I will not be."

The new job also allays the worries she used to have about working on TV in the U.S., she added.

"The only hosts that I see on TV in the States are kind of blond, perfect, big-boobed, L.A. girls who read a teleprompter and I'm not that girl -- I'm actually quite the opposite of that girl," said Cruickshank.

"So I didn't want to do any of those jobs and this offer was something that was for me and really going to let me produce and work on something that's my own and I'm so excited."

Cruickshank also laughed at the irony of moving to a city that's crawling with characters she and Levy used to make fun of on "The After Show."

"Someone put it really well, actually, the other day, they said, 'You're going to the city that you spent four years making fun of.' It's true!"

Cruickshank studied drama in London, England, and at the University of Toronto before moving into theatre and then shows including YTV's "Weird on Wheels."

"She has been an important part of the MTV family since its start," said Schwartz. "We will definitely miss her and we wish her nothing but the best!"

Cruickshank said she'll be forever grateful to MTV Canada for the opportunities it gave her, and she's in talks with the channel and CTV to possibly make cameos on their shows here and there.

"I can't turn my back on the fans and viewers who've kind of made me who I am and let me do what I love to do," she said.

"So you'll see my little freckly face on Canadian TV very soon, I promise."