Tony Blackburn returned to the BBC airwaves announcing "Good Lord, I'm back", 10 months after being sacked over evidence he gave to the Jimmy Savile inquiry.
The 73-year-old broadcaster is presenting a three-hour live show, Soul Party, on Radio 2 for New Year's Eve and opened with the Gloria Gaynor classic I Will Survive.
He said as his slot began: "It's New Year's Eve, it's BBC Radio 2 and what do you know? Good Lord, I'm back."
Blackburn was welcomed back by Sir Roger Moore who tweeted about his return.
The DJ said: "I've just had a tweet from Sir Roger Moore, 'He's back!' Fantastic."
He also said: "One or two people are saying where have you been for the last eight months? Well, I went for a long walk and got lost. Somebody found me yesterday."
Blackburn's return to the corporation was announced in October, with the I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! winner saying he "can't wait" to get started.
The DJ had threatened to sue the BBC and claimed he had been made a "scapegoat" after being taken off air in February.
Later, announcing his comeback, he said: "I have had a difficult year personally, but I'm pleased to be returning to the BBC and can't wait to get behind the mic again."
The BBC said it stood by its decision to take Blackburn off the air but added that he would be returning.
Blackburn has strenuously denied suggestions that he ''seduced'' Claire McAlpine - who later committed suicide - after inviting her back to his flat following a recording of Top Of The Pops in the 1970s.
The DJ, who first broadcast on Radio 1, denied in evidence that he had ever been made aware by the BBC of the complaint against him, even though the corporation told the Dame Janet Smith inquiry he had been.
Blackburn will also present an hour-long Radio 2 show at 7pm on Fridays, starting later in January.
In the New Year's Eve show, running from 8pm to 11pm, he will play classic tracks from the likes of Michael Jackson, The Temptations and Dionne Warwick.