Top 5 moments from The Daily Show finale

Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis met Stewart for Radio Times earlier this year, and said he was the man who “managed to teach me so much about my own journalistic profession, and has done it with an nearly reckless ease at his own brilliance”. WSJ senior editor Chris Farley reports on the comedians legacy, influence on late-night TV and the shows impact on how people perceive real news.

Correspondents both past and present made appearances to wish Stewart farewell, including John Oliver, Larry Wilmore, Steve Carell and Ed Helms.

While the show was filled with honest goodbyes, some of its political guests gave less-than-poignant farewells.

Stewart has helmed the “fake” news programme for more than 16 years, becoming one of the most influential satirists and liberal voices in the US. “But I will be trying”. “And I’m sure I’ll see you guys before I leave”, he said. “I’m dumb, I’m stupid”.

Stewart visibly squirmed, avoiding eye-contact as Stephen Colbert honoured him, going off script.

Colbert went on to say that although Stewart never wanted a thank you, he deserves one. “We learned from you, by example, how to do a show with intention, how to work with clarity, how to teach people with respect”.

Comedy Central put out the word that Stewart’s final show will run longer than the typical half hour, so people recording it on their DVRs won’t be unpleasantly surprised.

As an added bonus, the victor sat down at the desk with Stewart for a promotional interview that was posted online by Omaze, the charity fundraising platform that supported the contest. The super-sized episode also had plenty of well known cameos from Hillary Clinton to Bruce Springsteen.

Stewart, whose handful of extracurricular activities include writing and directing the 2014 drama Rosewater, has kept relatively quiet about his plans, except to say he intends to spend more time with his family. We owe you – and not just what you did for our careers by employing us to come on this tremendous show that you made – we owe you because we learned from you.