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Christopher James Evans (born 1 April 1966) is an English television presenter, radio DJ and producer for radio and television. He started his broadcasting career working for Piccadilly Radio, Manchester, as a teenager, before moving to London as a presenter for the BBC's
BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...
and then
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
television, where ''
The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...
'' made him a star. Soon he was able to dictate highly favourable terms, allowing him to broadcast on competing radio and TV stations. Slots like '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''
TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' (Thank Four it's Friday) is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five ...
'' provided a mix of celebrity interviews, music and comic games, delivered in an irreverent style that attracted high ratings, though often also generated significant numbers of complaints. By 2000, he was the UK's highest paid entertainer, according to the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List. In the tax year to April 2017, he was the BBC's highest-paid presenter, earning between £2.2m and £2.25m annually. In 2005, he started a new career on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, hosting his long-running ''Drivetime'' programme in April 2006, before moving in 2010 to host '' The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' every weekday morning. He presented ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'' on Fridays between 2010 and 2015. Between 2011 and 2018, he co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park. In 2015, Evans signed a three-year deal to lead a new '' Top Gear'' line-up and presented a revival series of ''TFI Friday''. On 4 July 2016, he announced that he would be stepping down as presenter of ''Top Gear''. On 3 September 2018, he announced that he would be leaving ''
The Radio 2 Breakfast Show ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' (also known as ''The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show'') refers to a range of programming on weekday mornings on BBC Radio 2 since the station's inception on 30 September 1967. The show's longest serving host to date wa ...
'' on Christmas Eve, and would be going to
Virgin Radio UK Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by News Broadcasting, which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the U ...
to present its breakfast show. He moved from
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
with most of his regular team.


Early life

Evans was born in
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, England, the youngest child of
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...
and health authority wages clerk Martin Joseph Evans (12 November 1921 – 25 April 1979),Births, Marriages & Deaths Index, England and Wales and Minnie Beardsall (1926–2018), who managed a corner shop. His siblings are brother David (born 1953) and sister Diane (born 1963). He started his schooling at St Margaret's Church of England Infants and Junior School, and later the Junior School in Orford, Warrington. Evans's father died of
colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...
, and his mother was a breast cancer survivor. He passed the
Eleven-Plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...
and started at Boteler Grammar School, Warrington. After the death of his father on Wednesday, 24 April 1979, the 13-year-old Evans took part-time work at an outlet of T. J. & B. McLoughlin's newsagent– tobacconist in Woolston, and ran an alternative tuck-shop at Padgate High School, which was a comprehensive school he attended for the final three years of his secondary education. Evans left secondary school aged 16 after moving into the sixth form, and then had a number of dead-end jobs in and around
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, including at a private detective agency and, notoriously, as a "
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
-ogram".


Career


Early career

Evans began his professional career at Piccadilly Radio, Manchester, in 1983, where he had previously had unpaid schoolboy work. Until 1984 Evans had three jobs: as an assistant to Timmy Mallett, and playing a character on his show called 'Nobby Nolevel' ('No 'O' Level'); acting as a disc jockey in the evenings at local pubs when he was not at Piccadilly Radio; and still working at the newsagents, opening up daily at 5 a.m. to sort out the newspaper deliveries. Evans switched to a full-time position at the station in 1984, his new role including being driven around the Manchester area in the radio car to turn up at listeners' houses. In addition he was producer to presenter James H. Reeve. Following this he presented a weekday
graveyard slot A graveyard slot (or death slot) is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually situated in the ea ...
with competitions and segments where listeners had opportunities to sell their belongings on air. After working as a producer on
Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...
's service '' The Superstation'', where he produced material for Jonathan Ross, Evans went on to work at the newly launched BBC Greater London Radio, first as a producer on Emma Freud's mid-morning show, then on ''Weekend Breakfast'' with Danny Baker. Owing to his success working on both shows, Evans was offered a producer role at
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
, but was persuaded to stay at GLR after station controller Matthew Bannister gave him the chance to present his own show, taking over Saturday afternoons in early 1990. Three months later, he started presenting ''The Greenhouse'', a Monday-to-Thursday evening show; he remained in this slot until the end of 1990. In early 1991, as a result of his first regular TV hosting work presenting the ''Power Up'' breakfast show on The Power Station for
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting plc (BSB) was a television company, based in London, that provided satellite television, direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. It started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company ...
, Evans moved to presenting ''Round at Chris's'', every Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., which he continued to present until April 1993.


Career success

In addition to his Saturday morning show on GLR, in March 1992 Evans began presenting a Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio 1, replacing Phillip Schofield. His show, ''Too Much Gravy'', was broadcast from 14:30 to 16:00 and ended in September 1992. His move to Radio 1 was short-lived but seen as a huge success, with controller Johnny Beerling later admitting he wished he'd offered Evans a full-time show there and then. At the time, however, Evans objected that Radio 1 had attempted to constrain his style, preventing him from using the " zoo" format, allegedly because Steve Wright was already doing that on the station. In April 1993, Evans left GLR and joined the new Virgin Radio, to host a Saturday morning show.


''The Big Breakfast''

Evans's departure from radio was in part so he could devote his time to the new
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...
show, ''
The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...
'', from 28 September 1992. He co-hosted the show with Gaby Roslin. Evans left ''The Big Breakfast'' on 29 September 1994 and formed his own television production company, Ginger Productions. Its first major programme, '' Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'', was broadcast between 1994 and 1995. The original concepts proved to be lucrative for Evans as its format was sold to numerous foreign broadcasters.


''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show''

In April 1995, Evans returned to radio to host the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
''
Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'', also known as ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week u ...
''. Evans negotiated into his contract with Radio 1 a clause allowing him to still make television programmes, and specifically an option to make a Friday night programme for Channel 4. A further clause required the ''Breakfast Show'' to be produced independently by Evans's Ginger company, rather than in-house by BBC Radio. Allowed to create the "zoo" format he had previously been disallowed from performing on Radio 1, Evans was given a free rein by his friend, the station's controller Matthew Bannister. Critics hated
innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...
-laden features like Honk Your Horn and in Bed with Your Girlfriend, but Evans put on 600,000 new listeners over Steve Wright – one for every £5 spent on salary and advertising. The effect also flowed through into the listening figures for later programmes. The audience grew as the breakfast format became more outrageous: humiliating assistant Holly Samos by repeatedly asking her about her sex life (Evans and Samos were reportedly in a relationship at periods through their time working together), and encouraging two female guests to perform a strip show on live radio. The show's highest listening figure reached 7.5 million. Evans began making editions of Channel 4's ''
TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' (Thank Four it's Friday) is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five ...
'' from 1996. The show – devised, produced and hosted by Evans through his Ginger Media company – combined celebrity interviews, musical guests and daft games and competitions. Largely based on the successful formula of his radio show, it was initially a big success. However, as the success of both shows peaked, combined with a string of celebrity relationships and highly publicised nights drinking with friends Danny Baker and Paul Gascoigne, the strain began to show, and a model emerged described as a "template for his approach to all his subsequent projects – an abundance of enthusiasm at the beginning which eventually falls prey to boredom and shiftlessness." Beginning to think he was indispensable at Radio 1, the first big falling-out with management came in December 1995 after taking his crew out on a 17-hour pub-crawl which ended two hours before they were due on air: Evans was fined one day's pay, £7,000. In 1996, broadcasting watchdogs investigated a continual trail of complaints against the show: Radio 1 refused to comment, and Evans never apologised. Evans also made increasing public demands of the Radio 1 management: after taking an extra week of unplanned holiday, Evans chose to turn up half an hour late for his 06:30 show and then demanded that his hours were changed so that it was a permanent fixture – this request was accepted. However, following the summer break things got decidedly worse. Criticised by the broadcasting watchdog for a tasteless joke about
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
victim
Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new li ...
, Evans countered with an item about haemorrhoids. Asked by Bannister to watch the rules, Evans the next day branded Bannister " The Fat Controller". In November, Evans announced on air that he was medically unfit to be on the radio – Bannister re-negotiated his contract to double his holiday to twice that of other Radio 1 DJs. After more publicised public drinking and self-confessed illness, Evans's spell at the station ended in January 1997 when he quit after his demand not to host the show on Friday (to have a full day getting ready for his TV show) was not accepted. ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'' was taken over by Mark and Lard ( Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley). Ratings fell significantly and they were replaced after eight months with the relatively unknown Kevin Greening and the well-known children's TV presenter Zoe Ball. Their tenure started on 13 October 1997.


Virgin Radio

During a holiday in
Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...
, Evans listened to the Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan on the radio. Evans claims the variety on Ryan's show made him want to return to radio. Evans was then hired by Virgin Radio to host its breakfast show, prompting an immediate upsurge in station listening figures of 1.8 million to 2.6 million. His first show was on 13 October 1997, the same day as Kevin Greening and Zoë Ball on Radio 1. Starting at 7:00 am, Evans's crew presented the show from Monday to Friday, but without Evans on a Friday. As Richard Branson had decided to reduce his media holding, he began talks to sell the station to
Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...
in a deal that would have given him 10% of holding company Capital Group. As this became public knowledge, Evans, who did not want to work for Capital, publicly dismissed them as "a bleating, blowing asthmatic dog." On 9 December, with the assistance of investors, Evans's vehicle Ginger Media Group bought Virgin Radio from Branson for £85m, to control the interests both of Ginger Productions and Virgin Radio. Both
Apax Partners Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of March 2024, the firm had raised and adv ...
and Branson each owned 20% of Ginger Media Group, while Evans and his investors owned the remaining 60%. The group later engaged in the prospect of buying the '' Daily Star'' newspaper, but decided against from commercial angles. Virgin Radio's new programme controller Paul Jackson, in light of audience figures which had dropped from a peak of 2.7 million to 1.7 million, had pruned Evans's "zoo" team and installed a music policy which replaced more eclectic choices with a strict diet of chart pop. As a result, on 20 June Evans was followed throughout the day by tabloid newspaper photographers, and undertook an "18-hour bender" which started after his show at 9.30 in the morning, and ended – after numerous pints of Kronenbourg and
Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...
, plus five bottles of Dom Pérignon – with Evans asleep in front of a lap-dancer at Stringfellows. Later photographed by the tabloids that week with new wife
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...
in the nearest pub to their home in Hascombe, Surrey, while claiming he was too ill to present his show, he was dismissed on 28 June 2001 for repeatedly failing to arrive at work. Evans was replaced by the older
Steve Penk Steve Penk is a British radio and television presenter. He was born in Rusholme in Manchester and attended Hazel Grove High School. At the age of 16, he started his radio career at Greatest Hits Radio Greater Manchester, Piccadilly Radio in 197 ...
, whom Evans criticised for his age – 39 versus Evans's then 35. Evans attempted to sue Virgin Radio, claiming that he was unfairly dismissed and denied share options worth £8.6 million. On 26 June 2003, in the judgement of ''Evans v SMG Television Ltd. & Ors'' 2003 EWHC 1423 (Ch), Justice Lightman found that he had been fairly dismissed and was not entitled to the share options. Giving his ruling at the High Court, Evans was publicly criticised for his attitude by the judge, who said of Evans: "He has the temperament of a prima donna." Virgin Radio/SMG later countersued, with Evans ordered to pay £1m towards their legal costs.


UMTV

In August 2002 Chris Evans set up a radio and television production company, UMTV, with the aim of specialising in live, cutting-edge, entertainment programming. Over the next 3 years UMTV produced more than 375 hours of television, with mixed success. TV shows included '' Boys and Girls'' hosted by Vernon Kay for Channel 4, '' Johnny Vegas: 18 Stone of Idiot'' for Channel 4 / E4; '' OFI Sunday'' for ITV; ''Live with Christian O'Connell'' and '' Live with Chris Moyles'' for Five; and the
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
award-winning ''School of Hard Knocks'' for 4 Learning. Following two high-profile shows which failed to perform in the ratings, UMTV hired
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...
and Evans's former ''Big Breakfast'' co-host Gaby Roslin to host a weekday morning magazine show, '' The Terry and Gaby Show.'' Evans said publicly that if this show failed he would set up a market stall. Despite critical acclaim the audience numbers never took off and Channel 5 axed the show after its year-long run, citing its high cost as a reason. True to his word, Evans was pictured at the end of the final show with a market stall and later he opened it for real at Stables Market, Camden.


Radio 2

Evans re-entered public life in early 2005, presenting the breakfast slot of UK Radio Aid's day of programming for the victims of the Asian tsunami, which was aired on most of the UK's
commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...
stations, and also The BRIT Awards in 2005 and 2006. From April 2005, Evans presented a number of one-off Bank holiday shows for
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, including coverage of the Live 8 concert in London.


Saturday afternoon show

Evans then joined Radio 2 on a permanent basis in September 2005, presenting a weekly Saturday afternoon show from 14:00 to 17:00. His first show featured singer
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
, and accompanied by a posse including friend "Big" Pete Winterbottom and newsreader Andrew Peach. Evans told listeners to his first show: "We've had a couple of test drives over the summer and we've decided to take it. Yes, we like this vehicle."


Move to ''Drivetime''

The show was well received by listeners and critics, and Evans was announced as the successor to Radio 2's ''
Drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
'' show on 2 March 2006, succeeding long-time host
Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...
, beginning on 18 April.
RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR; ) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was c ...
audience figures published in August 2006 showed Evans had 150,000 fewer listeners than his predecessor's last show but was on par with previous years. The second set of RAJAR's published in October 2006 showed his audience was up by 109,000-year-on-year, and up by 33,000 compared with the previous quarter. Figures showed he was drawing an average audience of 4.9 million a day on his drivetime show. By the end of 2007, the show was averaging over five million listeners. On 7 September 2009 it was announced that Evans would take over breakfast show from Sir
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...
after Wogan announced his intention to leave the show at the end of the year. Evans hosted his final drivetime show on Christmas Eve 2009.


''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show''


= BBC Radio 2 (2010–2018)

= Evans took over the Radio 2 breakfast show on 11 January 2010, succeeding Sir Terry Wogan. The show was originally 30 minutes longer than the Wogan incarnation and began at 07:00, but following the departure of Sarah Kennedy from early breakfast, the show was extended by another 30 minutes and began at 06:30. The show always ended with a handover to Ken Bruce at 09:30. While Evans replaced Wogan owing to his long-planned retirement, supporters of Kennedy alleged there was a deliberate intention to force her out so that Evans's show could be lengthened. His first three songs were
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' " All You Need Is Love" and " Got to Get You into My Life"; and
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
's " Come Fly with Me". His co-presenters included ex-BBC TV newsreader Moira Stuart, sports presenter Jonny Saunders (who was replaced in June 2011 by Vassos Alexander), and travel reporter Lynn Bowles. Features included The Gobsmackers (two songs selected by a listener that sound good played back-to-back).


= Virgin Radio (2018–present)

= On 3 September 2018, Evans announced live on air that he would be leaving the show and the station in December for Virgin Radio. On 11 September the BBC Director General Lord Hall of Birkenhead told the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that, as well as wanting a new challenge, releasing the salaries of those at the BBC earning more than £150,000 had been a contributing factor in Evans's leaving. A month later, Evans confirmed live on air that Zoe Ball would replace him on the show from January 2019. The show officially ended on 24 December 2018. Evans moved to Virgin with most of his Radio 2 team including sports reporter Vassos Alexander and Rachel Horne who provides regular news bulletins expanded her role as the show's travel expert. Ellie Davis leads the show as Executive Producer and producer Meera Depala is also part of the team. Supporting Davis are David Brain (Producer) and Jayne Cheeseman (Assistant Producer) who produced the previous breakfast show on Virgin Radio.


Sony Music Radio Personality of the Year

In May 2006, Evans was named Music Radio Personality of the Year at the annual Sony Radio Academy Awards, defeating rivals
Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...
, Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley and
Tim Lovejoy Timothy Paul Lovejoy (born 28 March 1968) is an English television presenter best known for hosting Saturday morning football programme '' Soccer AM'' with Helen Chamberlain for over a decade and ''BT Sports Panel'' on Saturday mornings. He ...
to win. When accepting the award, Evans thanked the BBC for giving him "a second chance." Evans won 'music radio personality' the following year, while his show won the Entertainment award. "I didn't expect this," he said. "I wouldn't have minded if I didn't win, but I really love the fact I have won." Evans was voted the 82nd most influential media personality in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper's 2007 poll.


Return to television

Following his success in the 1990s, Evans's attempts at a TV comeback in the 21st century have been mixed with a record of poor ratings and cancellations, including falling viewing figures for his recent role as co-host of Friday editions of ''The One Show''. In November and December 2005 Evans presented '' OFI Sunday'' on ITV. In a move described by ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'' as '' Partridgean'', ex-wife
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...
was the first guest on the programme. ''OFI Sunday'' was cancelled after just five shows following poor reviews and low viewing figures. Its cancellation led Evans to complain on air during his Saturday BBC Radio 2 slot that he no longer knew how to be successful on television. In 2009 Evans narrated the
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
Christmas pantomime.


''The One Show'' (2010–15)

In 2010, it was announced that Evans would be replacing
Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for fo ...
as the Friday co-presenter of ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'' on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. Chiles and then co-host
Christine Bleakley Christine Louise Lampard (''née'' Bleakley, born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish television presenter. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–20 ...
left the show to join ITV. Evans presented the show on Fridays with
Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...
, and occasionally covered other weekdays. Matt Baker presented the show on a regular Monday to Thursday basis. In 2015, Evans announced he was quitting ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'' to focus on '' Top Gear''.


Return to Channel 4

In January 2011 Evans returned to
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
to present a new reality show '' Famous and Fearless'', in which eight celebrities were arranged into two teams, 'Boys' and 'Girls'. The celebrities taking part on the boys' team were: Rufus Hound,
Charley Boorman Charley Boorman (born 23 August 1966) is a British television presenter, travel writer and actor. A motorbike enthusiast, Boorman has made four long-distance motorcycle rides with his friend Ewan McGregor, documented in '' Long Way Round'' (20 ...
, Sam Branson (son of Richard Branson) and Jonah Lomu. On the girls' team were Jenny Frost,
Kacey Ainsworth Kacey Ainsworth (born 19 October 1968) is an English actress, known for her roles as Little Mo Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Cathy Keating in the ITV1, ITV drama series ''Grantchester (TV series), Grantchester''. Early life ...
, Sarah Jayne Dunn and Dame
Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...
. Holmes won the girls'; Boorman won the boys' and the show outright. In February 2011, it was reported that the show had been axed after one series due to poor ratings.


''Top Gear''

On 16 June 2015, the BBC announced that Evans had signed a three-year deal to be the main presenter on the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
motoring show ''Top Gear'', following the departure of
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
,
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
, and
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
. On his radio show the next morning he confirmed his acceptance and explained the offer came after
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
and
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
had confirmed to the BBC they would not be returning to the show. Evans stated that before the announcement, he sent texts to May, Hammond and Clarkson and received supportive replies from all three. In February 2016, it was confirmed that Matt LeBlanc, Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris and Eddie Jordan would also be joining Evans for the twenty third series of ''Top Gear''. It was also revealed that the new series would begin airing in May 2016.


Controversies


Sale of GMG – dismissal and legal cases

On 14 March 2000, Evans agreed to the sale of Ginger Media Group to Scottish Media Group for £225 million. The sale made Evans the highest-paid entertainer in the UK in 2000, estimated by the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List to have been paid around £35.5 million. Following poor reviews of ''TFI Friday'', and Evans himself handing over presentation of the last series of the show to a series of "friends", the show was cancelled in December 2000. Evans continued to host the station's breakfast show, but echoes of his earlier dismissal from Radio 1 began to emerge. In May 2000, the station was fined £75,000 (then the largest penalty imposed by the Radio Authority) for his repeated on-air endorsement of
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
in the London mayoral elections.


Allegations and termination from ''Top Gear''

The first episode of the new six-episode series of ''Top Gear'' was broadcast 29 May 2016. In June 2016 it was reported that fellow presenter Matt LeBlanc had threatened to quit the show unless Evans was fired, because of inappropriate behaviour on set. The source alleged that Evans had become jealous of the attention the other presenters were getting and had become distanced from the group. On 4 July 2016 Evans announced that he had stepped down as presenter of the show and cut his contract with ''Top Gear'' short by two years. Throughout the duration of the new series, Evans had received strong criticism due to his presenting style. In the tax year to April 2017, he was the BBC's highest paid presenter, earning between £2.2 million and £2.25 million.


Personal life

Evans has a daughter, Jade (born 1986), by former fiancée Alison Ward. In 1998, after a long-running dispute, the couple reached an out-of-court arrangement whereby Evans provided a home for his daughter and an allowance to Ward. On 9 January 2015, Evans became a grandfather when Jade gave birth to her son. Evans married Carol McGiffin in 1991. Their 1993 break up was not amicable and the two divorced in 1998. McGiffin was scathing about Evans in newspaper articles as late as 2003. During his time at BBC Radio 1 and Virgin, Evans had well publicised relationships with
Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...
, model Rachel Tatton-Brown (whose sister was a researcher on ''The Big Breakfast''), assistant producer Suzi Aplin, Anthea Turner, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Sykes. In May 2000, Evans met teenage pop star
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...
, whom he dated for a while. As a present to him, she proposed on his 35th birthday, and the couple married in a £200 ceremony at the Little Church of the West in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
on 6 May 2001, in a ceremony attended by six guests including best man Danny Baker. Piper was 18 at the time. In September 2004, news stories circulated regarding a trial separation; Evans at the time had a stall at Camden Market where he sold furniture and paintings from his
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and Los Angeles homes, commenting: "I just want to get rid of it all, it's just a headache." In 2005, it was confirmed that Evans and Piper would divorce, with Piper publicly stating that she would take no money from Evans. Almost three years after they had separated, Evans and Piper divorced in May 2007. A keen golfer who plays with a handicap of 15, Evans met professional golfer, part-time model and columnist for '' Golf Punk'' magazine Natasha Shishmanian when they became golf partners in the All*Star Cup celebrity tournament in
Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...
; Evans gave his 17-year-old caddy at the 2005 event, Natalie Harrison, a £10,000 Russian Kristall Smolensk diamond he won for the quality of his play. Evans and Shishmanian married in August 2007, and held a reception in
Faro, Portugal Faro ( , ), officially the City of Faro (), is a Concelho, municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of Faro District, the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With an estimated population of 67,566 inhabi ...
, the following weekend that was attended by Evans's former wife Piper. The couple have four children and live in
Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeti ...
. Their two eldest sons have appeared a number of times on their father's Breakfast Radio show. In March 2008, Evans said in his Radio 2 blog that he had taken "magic mushrooms" two days before attending a
Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...
concert at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. He said: "I thought I was chronicling the Albert Hall moving sideways on the back of a giant rock and roll crab, something I didn't think the world should miss." A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said the force would investigate any reports of class A drug-taking. A fan of fast cars, and particularly
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
s, Evans was banned from driving for 56 days in 2001 and fined £600 after admitting to a speeding charge at Staines
Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...
after being stopped by
Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Counties of England, county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Tim De Meyer. The force has its headquarters at Mount Brown ...
when driving at on the
A3 road The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting the City of London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classifie ...
in
Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...
in January 2001. In 2005 Evans crashed his silver Ferrari 575M Maranello into a verge near his then Surrey home. On 18 May 2008, Evans attended RM Auctions/
Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
Ferrari auction in
Maranello Maranello ( Modenese: ) is a city of Italy in the province of Modena, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, 18 km from Modena, with a population of 17,504 as of 2017. It is known worldwide as the home of Ferrari and the Formula One racing team, ...
, Italy, and bought a 1961 250 GT Spyder California SWB formerly owned by US actor
James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
for the then world record price of 6.4 million euros. In May 2010 he bought a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of only thirty-six built, for £12 million. Reportedly he sold three Ferraris from his collection to pay for it. He sold it three years later for $25 million to a Swiss collector. In August 2002, Evans was one of seven onboard the sailing yacht ''Nausicaa'', in the Solent, when one of the crew members, James Ward — landlord of Evans's local pub, the White Horse in Hascombe, Surrey — was struck by a sailing boom, knocked overboard and drowned. Evans was said to be "deeply shocked and saddened" by the incident. In September 2007, Evans and Shishmanian started taking
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
lessons at
Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing near Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex, England. It has a Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence tha ...
. Evans is a first cousin of the father of former Scottish Rugby internationals Max Evans and Thom Evans. Evans is also an ambassador for
The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...
. On 15 November 2016, Evans was awarded an honorary degree from
York St John University York St John University (originally established as York Diocesan College), often abbreviated to YSJ, is a public university located on a large urban campus in York, England. Established in 1841, it achieved university status in 2006 and in 2015 ...
; he was presented this by university's chancellor Archbishop Dr John Sentamu at
York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
. On 3 May 2018, Evans's mother Minnie died at the age of 92. On 21 August 2023, Evans revealed he was being treated for
melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...
; on 20 September, he revealed he was now cancer-free. In August 2023 Evans flipped over an
auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
at his own festival in Hampshire and two passengers sustained minor injuries.


Shows hosted

The following lists are the main shows Evans has presented:


Television


Radio

* Piccadilly Radio, Saturday afternoons & weekday evenings (1986–1987) * BBC GLR, Saturday afternoons, 3–5 pm (1990) * BBC GLR, ''The Greenhouse'', Mondays–Thursdays, 7:30–10 pm (1990) * BBC GLR, ''Round at Chris's'', Saturdays, 10 am – 1 pm (January 1991– April 1993) *
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
, ''Too Much Gravy'', Sundays, 2:30 pm – 4 pm (March – September 1992) * Virgin Radio, Saturday mornings, 10 am – 1 pm (May -July 1993) * BBC Radio 1, Weekday Breakfast Show, 6:30–9 am (April 1995 – January 1997) * Virgin Radio, Weekday Breakfast Show, 6–10 am (October 1997 – June 2001) *
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, Saturday afternoons, 2–5 pm (September 2005– April 2006) * BBC Radio 2, Weekday Drivetime Show, 5–7 pm (18 April 2006 – 24 December 2009) * BBC Radio 2, Weekday Breakfast Show, 7:00–9:30 am (11 January 2010 – 24 September 2010); 6:30–9:30 am (11 October 2010 – 24 December 2018) *
Virgin Radio UK Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by News Broadcasting, which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the U ...
, Weekday Breakfast Show, 6:30–10:00 am (21 January 2019–present)


Bibliography

Evans has written three autobiographies: * * (also advertised as ''It's Not About Me: From Billie to Breakfast'') *


References


External links


The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio UK
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Chris 1966 births 2016 controversies Living people BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters BBC television presenters British car collectors Broadcasters from Lancashire Businesspeople from Lancashire Drinking establishment owners English radio DJs English television presenters English television producers People educated at Boteler Grammar School People from Warrington Comedians from Lancashire English male comedians