And the Republican debate winner is... the British guy

Gerard Baker (left) is editor of the Wall Street Journal but tonight he was simply "the British guy"

The fourth Republican debate was supposed to be all about Trump v Carson, Bush v Rubio, and everyone v Hillary.

But in a surprising twist, the stand-out performer on the night according to the audience on Twitter wasn't even a candidate.

Step forward Gerard Baker, aka "the British guy", "the guy with no hair" or least flatteringly of all "Humpty Dumpty".

Here's how the Fox Business moderator, editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, became both the hero and the villain of the pantomime.

Some observers enjoyed his smooth delivery:

But others quickly grew suspicious of his provenance:

So, who is Gerard Baker?

• Oxford-educated economist and now editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal

• Joined the Journal in 2009 and took charge in 2013

• First Briton to moderate a US presidential debate.

The irony that immigration was a hot topic was not lost:

Things turned worse as "the British guy" was outed as a baddie:

He quickly lost his shine:

Then history reared its ugly head:

But in the end, the new world order was restored. American sarcasm prevailed: