David Dimbleby's last BBC Question Time: A look back at the legendary host’s finest moments

After 25 years in the presenter’s chair, David Dimbleby will host his final episode of Question Time tonight.

The veteran chair of the BBC’s flagship political debate programme will take the helm for the last time on Thursday, a day after Tory MPs backed Theresa May’s leadership in a vote of confidence.

Mr Dimbleby, 80, announced in June that he would be leaving the role after a tenure that has spanned the premierships of John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition up to the present day Government.

BBC newsreader and Antiques Roadshow host Fiona Bruce will become the first female presenter of the current affairs panel show when she takes over in January.

Announcing his departure Mr Dimbleby said he would be returning to his first love of reporting, adding that his time on the programme has been “exhilarating following the twists and turns of British politics”.

He proved himself a formidable presence on the show, bringing order among the furore of the show’s weekly panel of politicians and celebrities.

On his final show tonight he will preside over a panel comprising Tory MP Nicky Morgan, Labour's Angela Rayner, Green MP Caroline Lucas, Former Brexit Secretary David Davis and comedian Jo Brand.

Viewers today told of their sadness at an end of an era ahead of him stepping aside.

Former barrister James Baker wrote on Twitter: "End of an era! Love Dimbleby, but looking forward to seeing Fiona Bruce in the chair."

Adam Hawker posted online: "It was nice of the Tories to make Dimbleby's series finale a big one."

Political clashes

The programme was no stranger to controversy. Notably, in 2009 then-BNP leader Nick Griffin was invited to be a panellist.

Mr Griffin was booed and branded “a disgrace” during the show, and Mr Dimbleby spared him no punches.

At one point, Mr Griffin appeared to smile after David asked him about Holocaust denial.

Mr Dimbleby said: “Why are you smiling, it’s not a particularly amusing issue.”

The chair hosted many clashes between panellists during his time on the show, knowing when to sit back and let the discussion play out.

One famed row in 2014 saw Russell Brand and Nigel Farage trade fierce insults.

Brand called Mr Farage a “pound shop Enoch Powell” during a section on immigration, while the then-Ukip leader said the performance of the "sometime comedian turned banker-basher" had been "limp".

But Mr Dimbleby was never shy of stepping in to call order.

During one highly-charged debate over Brexit in Darlington, staunch Remainer Terry Christian repeatedly interrupted the host and his fellow panellists.

Eventually Mr Dimbleby was forced to step in, urging: “Okay, let’s stop, stop, stop, stop, stop please.”

As Mr Christian continued, the level-headed host was driven to chanting: “It’s getting boring, you’re getting boring.”

The Question Time audience

It was not only the guests that Mr Dimbleby oversaw as chair, as the audience form a central part of the programme.

Panellists and audience often came to blows, and in one instance last year the host saw fit to evict a heckler who repeatedly shouted down Remain campaigner Gina Miller.

Following a barrage of shouting, Mr Dimbleby stepped in to demand: “I think you ought to leave, you know.”

However the audience could also take matters into its own hands.

When a fiery encounter between Mr Farage and comedian Eddie Izzard over immigration in June 2016 began to drag – the pair had been shouting over one another for 10 seconds straight – a riled audience member shouted: “Shut up!”

Dimbleby’s one-liners

The adept presenter’s quick wit made for some stinging one-liners during his career.

In one instance, the famously outspoken Piers Morgan was left speechless when Mr Dimbleby schooled him on his use of language.

In vintage fashion, Piers was recounting how he appeared on the Question Time "show" 19 times, to which the host replied: "It's a programme."

A humbled Piers said afterwards: "I would like to apologise for denigrating your programme."

In another, Mr Dimbleby could not resist making a quip during a dramatic show in the midst of the MPs expenses scandal in 2009.

Eric Pickles, former chairman of the Tory party, was met by a particularly hostile audience when he attempted to defend owning two homes less than 40 miles apart from one another.

He argued that he needed a property close to the House of Commons to make sure he was there on time for meetings.

Dimbleby shot back: “Like a job in other words."

But one exchange of wit famously backfired after the presenter attempted to mock Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Eton education.

The Tory MP hit back: “I was at school with your son.”

The growth of social media

The programme was peppered with lighter moments amid the debate, largely due to Mr Dimbleby’s sense of fun, and also through social media.

His time on the show has covered the emergence of Twitter and Facebook.

The presenter embraced these new mediums, often to be found on the programme’s online accounts. Following the second referendum he was filmed performing a Brexit rap: : “We’ve triggered Article 50/May’s letter was nifty/Michel Barnier looks shifty/Are we going to have to be thrifty/With a recession in 2050?”

Meanwhile a spoof Twitter account @Dimblebot, that re-imagines the host as a ruthless, mechanised debate enforcer and tweets all caps commentary on the debates became an internet sensation.

The show thrived in the online landscape as the rise of memes offered fruitful commentary on the debates.

The term "gammon" is believed to have first been used as an insult by viewers during Question Time in 2016.

Dimbleby’s BBC career

The 80-year-old first presented Question Time on January 14 1994 and is the longest serving presenter of the show, which was one of the BBC's most tweeted about programmes of the year.

During his BBC career, Mr Dimbleby presented political programmes such as Panorama and chaired many debates, including the party leaders' debates in the run-up to general elections since 2010.

He has been the BBC's anchorman for all general elections since 1979 and presented the broadcaster's coverage of the first referendum in Europe, a role he repeated in 2016 for the BBC's coverage of the EU referendum.