Anderson Cooper choked up as he signed off from 60 Minutes for the last time on Sunday night, after two decades on the show, with a heartfelt farewell tribute to the flagship newsmagazine’s journalistic value and historic importance.

The veteran journalist delivered his final report for the programme during the season finale, which would be his last, before growing visibly emotional as he attempted to record his closing line: “I’m Anderson Cooper.”

After pausing for several seconds and looking down to compose himself, he repeated the sign-off three times, a long-running tradition on the show.

In an extended 60 Minutes: Overtime, Cooper reflected on his over 20 years as a correspondent for the show. At the open of segment, when one interviewer informed him of his two decade span at the show, Cooper replied, “Wow, it’s been a hell of a ride.”

Clips rolled of past assignments and interviews, from celebrities to lawmakers and business moguls, cut with commentary from Cooper.

“This is crazy,” he said. “This is my last shoot for 60 Minutes. 60 Minutes has always been a place, at least for me, that you get to step into somebody else’s shoes. You get to see things through their eyes and see what their struggles are and what they are facing and you learn from that.”

Cooper added that he first began watching 60 Minutes after his father died and that the show stood out for its “trusted” and “hard-hitting” reporting, as he fondly recalled the familiar names of past CBS correspondents and striking stories they brought.

Cooper also said that when he finally landed the role he “could not believe” he had made it to the show and recalled how after legendary reporter Bob Simon died, he was given his office, and still keeps a bottle of scotch that was left behind by the man, who he noted later repeatedly inspired him in the field.

Further clips ran that included interviews with Prince Harry, actor Donald Sutherland, and singer Lady Gaga, but Cooper said the stories that stayed with him most involved ordinary people.

Recalling stories reporting across Africa over the years Cooper said, “That’s the great thing about 60 Minutes is that if you pitch a story of like, ‘I think this is a really important story. Let’s go and do it.’ They’ll say yes.”

“The thing is, it’s never felt like work. It’s felt like you’re stepping into people’s lives, and you’re invited into people homes,” he added. “You’re invited into their struggles, you’re invited into whatever it is that has brought them to be on 60 Minutes.”

Cooper, who joined the programme in 2006 while continuing to anchor Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN, said balancing the two jobs had become increasingly difficult.

“The whole time I’ve done pieces for 60 Minutes, my full-time job has been over at CNN and still is, and it’s been really challenging to do the kind of work you need to do to have a great 60 Minutes piece,” he said. “CNN doesn’t like it if I take a lot of time off to work on a 60 Minutes piece, so I’ve worked mostly for 60 Minutes on weekends. My vacation time at CNN has been working on 60 Minutes pieces, and I’ve loved it, but it’s been tough.”

He added that raising his young sons, Wyatt and Sebastian, ultimately drove the decision to leave.

“I’ve got a 4-year-old and a just now 6-year-old, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they still want to spend time with me,” Cooper said.

Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright first reported that Cooper had turned down an offer to remain at the show in February.

His departure comes during a volatile stretch for CBS News following a string of editorial departures and on-air shake-ups, including at 60 Minutes, tied to the arrival of Bari Weiss as the network’s editor-in-chief, after parent company Paramount merged with Skydance.

Amid all that change, Cooper’s parting segment included a desire that, “I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes. There’s very few things that have been around for as long as 60 Minutes has and maintain the quality that it has.”

“Things can always evolve and change and I think that’s awesome and things should evolve and change,” he continued. “But I hope the core of what 60 Minutes is always remains.”

In the final moments of the Overtime segment, a roll of predecessor sign-offs played before Cooper was seen attempting several times to sign off, choking up before finally managing to hit his closing line – “I’m Anderson Cooper” – for the last time.

Watch above via CBS.

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