Claire Danes is leaving 'Homeland'

Asked about rumours the next season will be the last, Claire - who can currently be seen on screen in season seven - told Sirius XM DJ Howard Stern: "Yeah, that's it."

Claire - who confirmed during the interview she is expecting her second child with husband Hugh Dancy, a sibling for six-year-old son Cyrus - admitted she is feeling "really conflicted" about her departure, though she's "ready" for it.

She said: "I mean, I'll be ready. She's a lot, this Carrie-freakin' Mathison character.

"It's a workout, so I'll be ready for a reprieve from that."

Showtime had already renewed the programme for its seventh and eighth seasons ahead of the sixth season premiere, but sources told the Hollywood Reporter there is a possibility it will keep going with a new cast beyond then.

In February, showrunner Alex Gansa admitted season eighth would likely be his last.

He confirmed: "It will be my final year and it will be designed to be the end of an eight-season story."

However, he insisted that didn't have to mean the end for the show.

He said: "It's definitely going to be my last year.

"I can't speak for Claire or [co-star] Mandy [Patinkin], but it will be my final year and it will be designed to be the end of an eight-season story.

"If Showtime, Fox, Claire and Mandy want to take the show further, that's their decision, and we would leave some room for that to happen -- if there's an appetite."