David Letterman bids farewell to The Late Show

David Letterman has hosted his final appearance on the Late Show.

Letterman was overwhelmed by a standing ovation as he kicked off his last ever night hosting the CBS talk show.

The audience showered Letterman with endless cheers as he opened the show, which looked back on some of the retiring host’s best moments.

Among them were clips of the children Letterman has interviewed over the years, as well as a look back at the time he wound up customers at a Taco Bell Drive-Thru in 1996.

“I’ll be honest with you. It’s beginning to look like I’m not going to get The Tonight Show,” he quipped in his opening.

“I know people are well-meaning, but I am sick and tired… [of], ‘What are you going to do now that you’re retiring?’ You know what I’m going to do, by God, I’m going to become the new face of Scientology.”

Alec Baldwin, Barbara Walters, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Peyton Manning, Tina Fey and Bill Murray also appeared to present the ‘Top 10 things I’ve always wanted to say to Dave’.

Letterman also thanked his “best friend” and musical director Paul Shaffer, as well as the entire CBS Orchestra, and all staff and crew who have worked on the show.

The Foo Fighters finished off the night with a special performance, while viewers at home saw highlights of the Late Show and a fireworks display on top of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.

Stephen Colbert will take over hosting duties from September 8.