Stars come out for Chris Moyles' Radio 1 send-off

Outgoing Radio 1 breakfast host Chris Moyles was given a send-off by showbiz pals including Ant and Dec who hosted a This Is Your Life-style farewell as he prepared to step down.

The duo turned up for his penultimate morning show which was unusually broadcast in front of a live audience of 200-plus fans.

Other guests included James Corden, Gary Barlow and Billie Piper who turned up to wish him well along with listeners at the BBC's Radio Theatre in London.

Geordie duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly produced their own big red book as they looked back on his career and brought out friends and guests from Moyles's eight and a half year stint on the breakfast show - the longest tenant of the prestige slot since the station launched in 1967.

Among the famous figures for the spoof review of his tenure was his predecessor Sara Cox.

She told him: "When I got fired, I wouldn't want anyone else to take over but Chris. In all seriousness, it was hard at first.

"But I've gone from a begrudging fan to a massive fan to a friend. I'm going to miss you... you've been there through three kids and a divorce. For lots of people you've been there for their own journeys."

Channel 4's Million Pound Drop Live presenter Davina McCall, a long-time friend, said: I'd like to think I'm your number one celebrity fan."

And actress Piper, soon to turn 30, said she first met Moyles when she was just 16. "It's been a long time and I love you," she said.

Cheryl Cole - one of Moyles's fellow trekkers during a Comic Relief challenge to climb Kilimanjaro, along with Barlow - sent a message of support.

"I'll never forget the memories we've shared," she said. "So best wishes from me, and happy new chapter."

Corden said he would miss the breakfast team like "a group of mates who you just happened to be in a car with".

And he added: "Rather than being sad about it, we should just celebrate that I don't know whether anyone else will do the breakfast show on Radio 1 for this long."

Comedian Roy Walker - who provided the voice for regular slot Car Park Catchphrase - also made an appearance and joked that he never listened to the show.

"I only listened to the last five minutes," he said.

Recalling being asked by Moyles to record his voiceover, veteran TV star Walker - former host of ITV's Catchphrase gameshow - said: "He said to me 'Roy, there's not much money in it' - and that was true - 'but it will make you a legend'. And he did. I managed to save your show - and now it's on to The X Factor," he joked referring to the ITV1 talent contest's flagging ratings.

Moyles will bow out from the show for a final time tomorrow. Fellow Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw is to take over the programme later this month.

Music guests included Pixie Lott and Rizzle Kicks, with whom Moyles recently recorded a track, in which they exchange banter, poking fun at each other's ages.

Moyles - one of the corporation's highest paid presenters - joked that his departure would leave a huge hole in the schedules, but would save the BBC a huge amount of money.

His Radio 1 colleague Fearne Cotton was also on the show and the two shared an innuendo-laden chat.

Moyles also asked McCall: "Can I see you topless?" She responded: "If there wasn't a whole audience of people, potentially yes."

Joking about what lay ahead after tomorrow's final show, Moyles said: "We'll all go off and do our own thing. I have a bit of community service to do."

PA