David Dimbleby is to return to BBC One just months after quitting as the presenter of Question Time – this time as host of Have I Got News for You.

The presenter has not been seen on screen since stepping down from the current affairs programme after 24 years but will be back on Friday 4 April at 9pm to host the long-running satirical TV show.

He said: “It is an intriguing invitation. When chairing Question Time I became used to dealing with difficult panellists – but Ian Hislop and Paul Merton are another matter. They have turned disruptive subversion into an art form. It will be quite a challenge to keep the show on the road but whatever happens it will be fun.”

The 80-year-old host will be joined by journalist and documentary film-maker Stacey Dooley and comedian Henning Wehn, along with team captains Hislop and Merton, for the first episode of the show’s nine-week run.

The extended version of the programme, Have I Got A Bit More News for You, will also air on Mondays on BBC One, from 8 April.

Dimbleby retired from Question Time at the end of 2018 and was replaced by Fiona Bruce. However, there is a chance that he could return to screens in the event of a snap general election being held this year, with a lack of clarity over whether he has formally handed control of the BBC’s election night results coverage to longtime understudy and News at Ten host Huw Edwards.

Dimbleby’s departure from Question Time, and his brother Jonathan’s decision to step down from BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions?, means the UK is set to be without a major current affairs show hosted by a member of the Dimbleby family for the first time in a generation.