Hilary Barry signed off from Newshub for the last time tonight, with a handful of tissues, teary eyes, giggles, and a beautiful bunch of flowers.
The veteran newsreader said she was incredibly grateful for her 23 years at MediaWorks and thanked her colleagues for putting up with her frequent and notorious giggle attacks.
"When Hilary laughed, we all laughed," McRoberts said, before cutting to video of some of Barry's more infamous on-air outbursts.
"You've been with us for 23 years and over that time much loved part of our family," McRoberts said as Barry grabbed a handful of tissues and dabbed her eyes.
"You're such a fantastic person to be with."
At the end of tonight's Newshub bulletin, a video montage of Barry over the years showed her as a young reporter making - and tasting - a Spam smoothie and tracking down an escaped pig.
On a more serious note, major events covered by Barry were included in the tribute, including her coverage of the Christchurch earthquakes.
"When the nation needed people the most, you were there," McRoberts said.
In a Facebook post earlier today, Barry thanked "every single person who tuned in".
"It's time to say goodbye and thank you," she wrote. "Half of my life spent in one place with wonderful people - friends, teachers and mentors."
She also shared a montage of photos - including one of her cleaning the TV3 newsdesk with a rag.
Former TV3 sports presenter Hamish McKay called Barry's departure "ground zero" for the network.
"I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to be on the ground floor the day when that news filtered around," he said. "Someone like me leaving? Minor tremor. John Campbell? Earthquake. Hilary? Ground zero, tsunami."
Barry's departure, revealed by the Herald on April 29, is the second high-profile departure from TV3 in the past year - John Campbell left last May when his show Campbell Live was dumped.
Other recent departures from the channel include McKay, newsreader Carolyn Robinson, current affairs editor Terence Taylor and his 3D team which included Melanie Reid and Paula Penfold, and a host of others.
The most recent to leave the company in the deluge of high profile resignations was chief executive Mark Weldon -- who announced he was leaving on May 4 - just days after news broke about Barry.
That afternoon Barry and McRoberts were spotted arriving at MediaWorks' Auckland studio carrying boxes of beer and champagne.
