A look back at some of Paul Henry's biggest - but maybe not best - moments

Love him or hate him, Paul Henry's never failed to generate conversation in New Zealand. Photo / Michael Craig.

It is understood that Paul Henry will step down from his breakfast show role and leave TV3 at the end of the year.

While Mediaworks - TV3's parent company - would not comment on the story, insiders told The Herald an official announcement is due on Thursday.

With that in mind, it seems a good time to review some of Henry's biggest and most polarising moments on air.

The time we found out exactly what's in a name

We all remember the incident regarding Delhi's chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Paul decided to purposefully mispronounce her name - which is supposed to be said as "Dixit" - calling her "Dip Shit" before going on to add: "What's her name? Dick Shit?".

He then went on to add insult to injury by saying: "It's so appropriate because she's Indian".

The time he was racist toward the Governer General

For reasons unknown, Paul decided to grill John Key about the Governor General at the time, Anand Satyanand by first asking if he was a New Zealander, and then making it so much worse by asking if Key would choose someone who "looks and sounds like a New Zealander this time".

The time he was racist toward Asians - and specifically, Asian women

Paul went on an epic rant about Asian drivers, and more specifically female Asian drivers, going so far as to say he wanted a gun so he could shoot the driver with whom he'd had a tough time during his commute.

After detailing the encounter in full, he said: "I knew she would be an Asian lady, I just knew it. Why can't I (say that)? Because it's true."

The time he made fun of a woman for having facial hair

While reading viewers' letters out loud, Paul rejected pleas to ignore a letter about Greenpeace spokeswoman Stephanie Mills and read it out anyway.

It said: "Are [moustaches] for female Greenpeace members standard issue?"

And then he tacked on his own two cents saying: "I noticed as well, I thought: that is a moustache on a lady," barely containing his laughter.

The F-bomb that nearly toppled Hilary

No stranger to slipping up on air, Paul Henry dropped an F-Bomb so severe Hilary Barry almost fell off her chair, in which he described something as a "cluster-f***" before realising his mistake.

He apologised profusely but then added, "But wasn't it funny?"