After 17 years, 21 series and 235 episodes, Mock The Week is finally coming to an end.

The BBC Two hit satirical series has grown into a much-loved institution since it landed in 2005, entertaining viewers with its occasionally controversial, but always funny, topical discussion, stand-up segments and performance rounds.

No shrinking violet, the comedy giant has covered six England football managers, soon-to-be six prime ministers, four US presidents (and four BBC director-generals). It has lived through four World Cups, four Olympic Games, five UK elections and has been the undisputed breeding ground for multiple generations of top comic talent.

So why the curtain call now?

The UK has simply run out of news, teased longtime host Dara O Briain, 50, when the finale was announced - "The storylines were getting crazier and crazier, from global pandemics to divorce from Europe and novelty short-term prime ministers, it couldn't go on. We just couldn't be sillier than the news was already."

So what can fans expect from its final hurrah? A reflective O Briain spills the beans.

HOW DID YOU FEEL TO LEARN THIS WOULD BE YOUR LAST SERIES?

I found out last November, but until there's a point where it stops happening, only then there might be a time of going, 'Oh, yeah, that thing I used to do...'. It's a show that basically took 11 evenings out of my year; it was great, but it was broadcast far more often than it was recorded. So while it's a pity that I won't get to work with a bunch of comedians that I really like - as a touring comic, most of my year is spent on my own - that's probably the greatest thing that I'll miss about it. It's very nice to check in every so often, plus fool myself that I'm part of a young, vibrant generation of comedians.

TELL US HOW THE FINALE WILL WORK - THERE WILL BE SIX MAIN EPISODES AND TWO THAT WILL TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE?

(Yes), the two extras will be compilations of the 22 series, so from the first 11 to the second 11, you'll go from tense, over-testosterone-fuelled footage one week to happy collaborative, where all the nastiness has gone, in the second week.

WHAT WERE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THE SHOW 17 YEARS AGO?

I didn't think it would fly. I thought there was too much going on. There were nine rounds during the early shows, until it settled down into the thing they actually wanted to do. Really brief rounds, there was so much going on the only thing I was doing was pressing a buzzer and handing out points! There used to be a lot of what I call 'traffic cop' where there would be lots of talking and I would have to stop one person from talking to let somebody else in. Now, comedians do podcasts, so they know when to speak and not talk over each other. It became more relaxed - and more enjoyable to do.

YOU'VE BOOKED SOME OF THE GREATEST COMICS OVER THE YEARS. HAS THERE BEEN MUCH RIVALRY?

It's a two-and-a-half hour record so everybody got a chance to speak. There was the odd (rivalry) but you'll have to wait for the memoirs, the working title for which is: It's Over, So Let's Burn Those Bridges. Contrary to expectations, we wanted to be a friendly show, other shows not so much. I always made a point of being welcoming. Sometimes it didn't work - people were too new, too young and didn't have anything to say, but you try and give them the best of chances.

HUGH DENNIS HAS BEEN WITH YOU SINCE THE START. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

As a measure of how close Hugh and I have got - Hugh's real name is Peter, and yet I've never referred to him as (that). We've never really gotten that close; we've always kept it surface level. But Hugh sat us down with us at the very start and he was, to us, as I probably am now to the younger comics. We all were like, 'This is all new, this has to be a success'. And Hugh was like, 'Calm down, keep the gig you're on'. Hugh's general good sense about how fickle this industry is was a handy thing to have around. He basically gave everyone a good ethic, which was, 'Look, this is a ridiculous industry, so when you get the work, you do the work, you do the work well, and you carry on.' But he's just a very civilised man, who you know will always deliver.

ARE YOU SURPRISED MOCK THE WEEK HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME?

It surprises me considering how much grief we've got over the years. It's quite sweet to see all the nice comments being made, now that it's coming to an end, after all the stick we've taken. It's been a bit like attending one's own funeral, seeing all these clips of yourself and hearing people saying nice things!

DO YOU THINK THERE'S ROOM FOR ANOTHER TOPICAL SATIRE PIECE?

I would say yes. There are always people talking about matters of the day and they should be discussed. There will always be a topic. So yeah, give it a crack, but obviously not this exact format. This one is to be put in concrete and no one is ever allowed to go near it again.

YOU'RE CURRENTLY ON TOUR, BUT DO YOU HAVE MORE TV AMBITIONS?

I would love to do more TV because it's fun to do a collaborative thing. But I'm literally 54 dates into a 150-date tour - that was always the day job. I've never made a big secret of the fact that TV was very much my side hustle. As for what I would do next? God only knows. It's so random, TV. I've done everything from fighting robots to travel documentaries to... I have a fairly broad spectrum of experience. But stage is always a bigger deal.

WHERE WOULD YOU SAY YOU'RE AT IN YOUR CAREER?

I'm at an exciting part of a comedian's journey where you move to the beat of being young and new. And then these are the bits where hopefully I return from the wilderness and pop out again as a national treasure in about 20 years' time. That's the long game here. That's the aim now, to get through your middle ages, and then become venerable and cheeky in old age. That's the arc.

Mock the Week returns to BBC Two on Friday, September 16.