Question Time presenter David Dimbleby, 75, gets scorpion tattoo at east London studio

Veteran BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby has revealed he has got his first tattoo at the age of 75 - a scorpion on his right shoulder.

Best known for his stinging asides on Question Time, the presenter described getting the body art at a trendy east London studio as a "dream come true".

He told the Radio Times: "You are only old once. I have always wanted a tattoo. I thought I might as well have it done now. It's a dream come true for me."

Referring to singer Cheryl Cole's tattoo on her bottom, he added that he "wasn't tempted to have any private parts decorated".

Dimbleby, who has presented the BBC's general election coverage since 1979, got the tattoo while making the maritime series Britain And The Sea, set for broadcast later this month.

He was offered the chance to have his own skin inked while looking at how tattoos were introduced to the UK as a result of Captain Cook's South Seas adventures.

Thinking he was too old, he turned down the offer and had a mark put on his body in black pencil instead.

But Dimbleby told the magazine: "When I saw it in a preview of the film I thought 'That's a bit feeble.' I thought it was wimpish having it just drawn on and I needed to man up."

Followed by camera crews, he headed to the Vagabond tattoo studio in Bethnal Green.

"It took about 30 minutes - an hour in all - and I thought of Winston Churchill having his done while mine was being done. It wasn't painful at all, it just zings a bit. It's modest," he said.

"It can't be seen unless I choose to show it to someone. I'm rather fond of it actually, this little scorpion sitting on my shoulder ready to attack my enemies."

Dimbleby said that he decided to have the scorpion because Scorpio is his star sign.

"It's beautifully done, actually. It's a work of art. They have these 3D tattoos now that are done using photographs, which are just astonishing, but I wasn't about to have one myself.