David Letterman received a standing ovation as he returned to The Late Show on Monday.
The iconic talk show host was visibly moved by the audience's warm reception as he arrived on set, with fans taking to their feet and cheering loudly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my guest tonight certainly needs no introduction," Stephen Colbert said as he lined up his predecessor. "Please welcome back to the Ed Sullivan Theater - Mr. David Letterman."
The 76-year-old star clearly wasn't expecting such a rousing welcome and looked stunned as he entered the studio.
"Wow! How about that?" Letterman remarked.
Colbert urged the star to "take your time" and soak up the moment, as Letterman waved to fans around the studio.
As the audience continued to cheer and loudly chant his name, Letterman quipped to Colbert, "What are they doing now? Is there going to be trouble?"
The warm reception only became louder and prompted the comedian to look at his watch to jokingly see how much time he had left on stage.
He finally called upon Colbert to "control your people" as he sat down.
This was Letterman's first time back at The Late Show since he left the show in 2015 following 23 years as host.
During the chat, Letterman revealed whether he missed hosting the late-night talk show.
"I miss everything," he revealed. "Mostly, it's fun. Very few things in life provide one the opportunity - and I can't speak for you on this topic - but for me, if you muck one up, 24 hours later, you get to try again."
He has appeared on other talk shows since his departure, where he has been interviewed by the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres and Seth Meyers.
Letterman has since enjoyed success with his Netflix interview series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, which has seen him talk to famous faces including Barack Obama, Will Smith, Ryan Reynolds, Kanye West, Billie Eilish and Kim Kardashian.