Chris Evans (presenter)
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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 Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, as a teenager, before moving to London as a presenter for the BBC's BBC Radio London and then
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television, where ''
The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The p ...
'' 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 ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' 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 until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...
'' and ''
TFI Friday ''TFI 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 series. The sixth series ...
'' 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, hosting his long-running Drivetime programme in April 2006, before moving in 2010 to host ''
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' (currently referred to on-air due to sponsorship reasons as ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky'') is the name given to two versions of a radio programme hosted by broadcaster Chris Evans in the United ...
'' every weekday morning. He previously presented ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' on Fridays between 2010 and 2015. Between 2011 and 2018, he co-hosted
Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park Radio 2 Live (formally known as Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park and Radio 2's Festival in a Day) is a British music festival that took place from 2011 to 2019 in Hyde Park in London, and is due to be held in Leeds in September 2022. The idea behind th ...
. In 2015, Evans signed a three-year deal to lead a new ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' 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'' 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 was Sir Terry Wogan, who worked on the programme for 2 ...
'' 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 Wireless Group which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the UK: t ...
to present its breakfast show. He moved from BBC Radio 2 with most of his regular team.


Early life

Evans was born in
Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
, England, the youngest child of
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...
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 Orford is a suburb of Warrington, in the Warrington district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Originally a small area north of the township of Warrington, it is now a large area between the town centre and the M62, incorporating ...
. Evans' father died of colorectal cancer, and his mother was a breast cancer survivor. He passed the
Eleven-Plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized 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 which use academi ...
and started at Boteler Grammar School, Warrington. After the death of his father on 25 April 1979, the 13-year-old Evans took part-time work at an outlet of T. J. & B. McLoughlin's newsagent–
tobacconist A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retailer of tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More specia ...
in
Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...
, 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 a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
, including at a private detective agency and, notoriously, as a "
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal 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 adv ...
-ogram".


Career


Early career

Evans began his professional career at
Piccadilly Radio Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
, Manchester, in 1983, where he had previously had unpaid schoolboy work. Until 1984 Evans had three jobs: as an assistant to
Timmy Mallett Timothy Luke Mallett (born 18 October 1955) is an English TV presenter, broadcaster, and artist. He is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses, loud shirts, and giant pink foam mallet, known as "Mallett's Mallet", as well as hi ...
, and playing a character on his show called 'Nobby Nolevel' ('No 'O' Level'); acting as a disc jockey in the evenings at local
pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
when he was not at Piccadilly Radio; and still working at the newsagents, opening up daily at 5 am 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 with competitions and segments where listeners had opportunities to sell their belongings on air. After working as a producer on Richard Branson's service ''
The Superstation The Superstation (or ''Radio Radio'' as it was known in the industry) was set up in 1987 as an overnight sustaining service for Independent Local Radio. The station broadcast from 10.00pm until 6.00am on many of the UK's commercial radio stat ...
'', 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 Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator. Early life Freud was born in London on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud (1924–2009) and June ...
's mid-morning show, then on ''Weekend Breakfast'' with
Danny Baker Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fami ...
. 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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, but was persuaded to stay at GLR after station controller
Matthew Bannister Richard Matthew Bannister (born 16 March 1957) is a British media executive and broadcaster. Early career After attending King Edward VII School, Sheffield, he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio Not ...
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 (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...
, Evans moved to presenting ''Round at Chris's'', every Saturday morning from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, 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 Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
. 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 John William Beerling (born 12 April 1937) is a British radio producer and station controller. Early life Beerling attended the Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent. Career National Service He began his radio career during nationa ...
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 A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to 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 Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
, to host a Saturday morning show.


''The Big Breakfast''

Evans' 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 network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...
show, ''
The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The p ...
'', from 28 September 1992. He co-hosted the show with
Gaby Roslin Gaby Roslin (born 12 July 1964) is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting ''The Big Breakfast'' on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the '' Children in Need'' charity telethons on the BBC ...
. 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 ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' was a British light entertainment TV programme that aired on Channel 4 from 12 February 1994 to 25 February 1995 and was hosted by Chris Evans. Background ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' was written ...
'', 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 ''
Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' 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 until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...
''. 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' 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 hint, insinuation or 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 insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
-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 Holly Samos (born 23 December 1970 in Guildford, Surrey) is a radio broadcaster. A former member of Chris Evans's ''breakfast show team'' from the 1990s, she continued her career as the Formula 1 pit lane reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live for fiv ...
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'' 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 series. The sixth series ...
'' 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, Evans never said sorry. 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, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
victim
Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )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 light on Anne Fra ...
, Evans countered with an item about
haemorrhoids Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...
. Asked by Bannister to watch the rules, Evans the next day branded Bannister "
The Fat Controller The Fat Controller, whose real name is Sir Topham Hatt, is a fictional character in ''The Railway Series'' books written by the Reverend W. Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. In the first two books in the series ('' The Three Railway Engin ...
". 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' 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 and Lard was the stage name of Mark Radcliffe (Mark) and Marc Riley (Lard), who presented various weekday shows on BBC Radio 1 from 1991 to March 2004. Career Radcliffe, then a Radio 1 producer, began presenting specialist shows on the ne ...
( Mark Radcliffe and
Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...
). When Evans found out that they were a ratings disaster, he quickly got in touch with BBC Radio 1 management to ask whether he could take back the show again. Station management declined but did offer him a weekend slot, which he turned down. In response to the falling ratings, bosses decided to replace its presenters with the relatively unknown
Kevin Greening Kevin Greening (30 December 1962 – 29 December 2007) was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 with Zoe Ball from 13 October 1997 to 25 September 1998. Early career Kevin Greening grew up in Bristol whe ...
and the well-known children's TV presenter
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & ...
. Their tenure started on 13 October 1997.


Virgin Radio

During a holiday in
Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...
, Evans listened to the Irish broadcaster
Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented '' The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until ...
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 Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
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' 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 a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...
in a deal that would have given him 10% of holding company
Capital Group Capital Group is an American financial services company. It ranks among the world's oldest and largest investment management organizations, with over $2.6 trillion in assets under management. Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1931, it is p ...
. 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' 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 December 2017, the firm, including its ...
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.


Sale of GMG – dismissal and legal cases

On 14 March 2000, Evans agreed the sale of Ginger Media Group to
Scottish Media Group STV Group plc (formerly known as Scottish Television plc, Scottish Media Group plc and SMG plc) is a media company based in Glasgow, Scotland. Beginning as a television broadcaster in 1957, the company expanded into newspapers, advertising and r ...
for £225m. 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 £35.5million. 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 Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...
) for his repeated on-air endorsement of Ken Livingstone in the
London mayoral elections The London mayoral election for the office of mayor of London takes place every four years. The first election was held in May 2000, and five subsequent elections have taken place. The latest mayoral election took place in 2021; it was initially ...
. 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 A tabloid is a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet. There is no standard size for this newspaper format. Etymology The word ''tabloid'' comes from the name given by the London-based pharmaceutical company Burroughs We ...
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 Kronenbourg Brewery (french: Brasseries Kronenbourg, German: ''Kronenbourg Brauerei'', ) is a brewery founded in 1664 by Geronimus Hatt in the Free Imperial City of Straßburg, Holy Roman Empire (today Strasbourg, France). The name comes from th ...
and Guinness, plus five bottles of
Dom Pérignon Dom Pérignon (; ) is a brand of vintage Champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the Champagne method for making ...
– 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. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
in the nearest pub to their home in
Hascombe Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a large cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green, a fountain, pond, a central public house and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides. History Above the ...
, 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, Manchester. Penk has worked for various national and local UK radio stations. Aged just 16 he started his radio career at Piccadilly Radio in 1978 (subsequently r ...
, 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. In his autobiography, Evans writes that shortly after the sale of Virgin Radio he was offered £56m for his SMG shares by Goldman Sachs. He declined the offer and eventually sold them for £250,000.


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 Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' ...
for Channel 4, ''
Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, overweight appearance, angry comedic rants, and us ...
:
18 Stone of Idiot ''18 Stone of Idiot'' is a British television programme broadcast on Channel 4 in 2005 designed as a vehicle for Johnny Vegas and produced by Chris Evans. The first show was broadcast on 27 May 2005 and a further five episodes were broadcast w ...
'' for Channel 4 / E4; ''
OFI Sunday ''OFI Sunday'' was a British entertainment show hosted by Chris Evans. It aired on Sundays on ITV at 10:30 pm. The title stood for "Oh Flip It's Sunday", similar to the previous show ''TFI Friday''. Reception Critical reaction was extremely ...
'' for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
; ''Live with
Christian O'Connell Christian Liam O'Connell (born 7 April 1973 in Winchester, Hampshire) is a British radio disc jockey, television host, writer, and comedian living in Australia. He presents ''The Christian O'Connell Show'' on weekday mornings on Gold 104.3 in ...
'' and ''
Live with Chris Moyles ''Live With Chris Moyles'' was a short-lived British comedy chat show on five, which aired weekdays at 7pm. The show was filmed in front of a live audience in a bar in London. The show consisted of Moyles' unique take on the day's news, interacti ...
'' for
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
; and the BAFTA 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 the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...
and Evans' former ''Big Breakfast'' co-host
Gaby Roslin Gaby Roslin (born 12 July 1964) is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting ''The Big Breakfast'' on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the '' Children in Need'' charity telethons on the BBC ...
to host a weekday morning magazine show, ''
The Terry and Gaby Show ''The Terry and Gaby Show'' was a British daytime television show broadcast on Five on weekday mornings between June 2003 and April 2004, produced by Chris Evans' company UMTV. It was hosted by Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin. The opening titles f ...
.'' 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. It was the United States′ first model of radio (a ...
stations, and also
The BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
in 2005 and 2006. From April 2005, Evans presented a number of one-off Bank holiday shows for BBC Radio 2, 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, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
, and accompanied by a posse including friend "Big" Pete Winterbottom and newsreader
Andrew Peach Andrew Peach is a radio presenter in the United Kingdom. He presents a daily news and phone-in show on BBC Radio Berkshire which was named 'Best Local Radio Show in the UK' at the 2021 Radio Academy ARIA Awards. He also presents network programme ...
. 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 cl ...
'' show on 2 March 2006, succeeding long-time host
Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sc ...
, 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 call ...
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 Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a lo ...
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 the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...
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

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 am, but following the departure of
Sarah Kennedy Sarah Mary Kennedy MBE (born 8 July 1950) is a British retired TV and radio broadcaster. She presented her daily early morning radio show, ''The Dawn Patrol'', on BBC Radio 2 from 1993 to 2010. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kennedy ...
from early breakfast, the show was extended by another 30 minutes and began at 06:30 am. The show always ended with a handover to
Ken Bruce Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a British broadcaster who is best known for hosting his long-running weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 1986 to 1990, and then again since 1992. Early life and career Bruce was born a ...
at 09:30 am. 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' show could be lengthened. His first three songs were
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
' "
All You Need Is Love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...
" and "
Got to Get You into My Life "Got to Get You into My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, first released in 1966 on their album ''Revolver''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is a homage to the Motown Sound, wit ...
"; and Frank Sinatra's " Come Fly with Me". His co-presenters included ex-BBC TV newsreader
Moira Stuart Moira Clare Ruby Stuart, (born 2 September 1949) is a British presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.Jonny Saunders Jonny Saunders (born 31 March 1975) is a British former radio sports reporter, presenter and commentator. He worked for the BBC and featured on Radios 1, 2, 4, 5 live and 6 Music. He was the drivetime and later morning sports presenter on BB ...
(who was replaced in June 2011 by
Vassos Alexander Born Vassos Alexander Georgiadis is a British sports reporter, presenter, author and endurance runner. He is currently the sports presenter of '' The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' on Virgin Radio. Alexander hosts the Parkrun podcast, he is a mot ...
), and travel reporter
Lynn Bowles Lynn Bowles is a British broadcaster and a former traffic weekday mornings reporter for BBC Radio 2. Early life Bowles was born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales, and is the youngest of three siblings. Her father, Cliff, was a marine engineer; her mother ...
. Features included The Gobsmackers (two songs selected by a listener that sound good played back-to-back). On 3 September 2018, Evans announced live on air that he would be leaving the show and the station in December for
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
. On 11 September the BBC Director General Lord Tony Hall told the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. T ...
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' leaving. A month later, Evans confirmed live on air that
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & ...
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 Born Vassos Alexander Georgiadis is a British sports reporter, presenter, author and endurance runner. He is currently the sports presenter of '' The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' on Virgin Radio. Alexander hosts the Parkrun podcast, he is a mot ...
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 The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...
, defeating rivals
Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, and actor. He co-presented the former Saturday morning BBC One children's show ''Live & Kicking'', alongside Zoe Ball between 1996 and 1999. He co-hosted ...
,
Lauren Laverne Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...
,
Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...
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 on the ...
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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper's 2007 poll.


Return to television

Following his success in the 1990s, Evans' 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 ''OFI Sunday'' was a British entertainment show hosted by Chris Evans. It aired on Sundays on ITV at 10:30 pm. The title stood for "Oh Flip It's Sunday", similar to the previous show ''TFI Friday''. Reception Critical reaction was extremely ...
'' on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. In a move described by Private Eye as '' Partridgean'', ex-wife
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
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 broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
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 foo ...
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 weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. Chiles and then co-host
Christine Bleakley Christine Louise Lampard ('' née'' Bleakley, born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish broadcaster. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as ''The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–11), while ...
left the show to join
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. Evans presented the show on Fridays with
Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...
, and occasionally covered other weekdays.
Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's ''Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wit ...
presented and still presents (as of 2018) 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 weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' to focus on ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
''.


Return to Channel 4

In January 2011 Evans returned to
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
to present a new reality show ''
Famous and Fearless ''Famous and Fearless'' is a reality game show series in which 8 celebrities compete in extreme sporting events to win money for their respective chosen charity. It aired in January 2011 on Channel 4 and was presented by Chris Evans and Clar ...
'', in which eight celebrities were arranged into two teams, 'Boys' and 'Girls'. The celebrities taking part on the boys' team were:
Rufus Hound Rufus Hound (born Robert James Blair Simpson 6 March 1979) is an English actor, comedian and presenter. Early life Hound was born on 6 March 1979, in Essex and moved to Surrey at the age of seven. He was educated at Hoe Bridge School Woking ...
, Charley Boorman, Sam Branson (son of Richard Branson) and
Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...
. On the girls' team were
Jenny Frost Jennifer Frost (born 22 February 1978) is an English singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of girl group Precious before replacing Kerry Katona in the group Atomic Kitten from 2001 until they disbanded in April 2004. Frost ...
,
Kacey Ainsworth Kacey Ainsworth (born 19 October 1968) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Little Mo in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Cathy Keating in ITV drama ''Grantchester''. Early life Ainsworth trained at the Royal Ce ...
,
Sarah Jayne Dunn Sarah Jayne Dunn (born 25 September 1981) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Mandy Richardson on the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 1996 until 2021. In November 2021, Dunn was dropped from ''Hollyoaks'' after she ...
and Dame
Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...
. 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 motoring show ''Top Gear'', following the departure of
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
, Richard Hammond, 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 of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
. 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 of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
and Richard Hammond had confirmed to the BBC they would not be returning to the show. 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 Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc r ...
, Rory Reid,
Sabine Schmitz Sabine Schmitz (; 14 May 1969 – 16 March 2021) was a German professional motor racing driver and television personality. Born in Adenau to a family in the hotel and catering business, and raised in one of the villages nestled within the Nürb ...
, Chris Harris and
Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship ...
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. The first episode of the new series of six episodes was broadcast 29 May 2016. In June 2016 it was reported that fellow presenter LeBlanc had threatened to quit the show unless Evans was sacked, 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 cutting 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 £2.2m and £2.25m.


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 7 September 2013, Evans walked Jade down the aisle when she married her boyfriend Callum. On 9 January 2015, Evans became a grandfather when Jade gave birth to her son. Evans married
Carol McGiffin Carol Deirdre McGiffin (born 18 February 1960) is an English radio and television broadcaster, who has appeared on the daytime talk show ''Loose Women'' since the early 2000s. She appeared on the twelfth series of '' Celebrity Big Brother''. ...
in 1991. Their 1993 break up was not amicable and McGiffin has been scathing about Evans in newspaper articles in the years since. The two divorced in 1998. During his time at BBC Radio 1 and Virgin, Evans had well publicised relationships with Kim Wilde, model Rachel Tatton-Brown (whose sister was a researcher on ''The Big Breakfast''), assistant producer Suzi Aplin,
Anthea Turner Anthea Turner (born 25 May 1960) is an English former television presenter. She was a host of ''Blue Peter'' from 1992 until 1994, and of ''GMTV'' from 1994 until 1996. Early life Turner was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and educated ...
,
Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...
, and
Melanie Sykes Melanie Ann Sykes (born 7 August 1970) is an English television and radio presenter. She is best known for co-hosting '' Today with Des and Mel'' with Des O'Connor and '' Let's Do Lunch'' with Gino D'Acampo. She also co-hosted '' Going Out with ...
. 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. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
, 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 Little Church of the West is a wedding chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Built of redwood, it was intended to be a replica of a typical pi ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada on 6 May 2001, in a ceremony attended by six guests including best man
Danny Baker Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fami ...
. In September 2004, news stories circulated regarding a
trial separation Marital separation occurs when spouses in a marriage stop living together without getting divorced. Married couples may separate as an initial step in the divorce process or to gain perspective on the marriage and determine whether divorce is warra ...
; Evans at the time had a stall at
Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead ...
, where he was found selling furniture and paintings from his
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
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 ''Golf Punk'' magazine was launched by Tim Southwell and John Dean through their Keep Yourself Nice Ltd company in 2004, after securing investment from initially Premier League footballers Michael Gray, Thomas Sørensen, Phil Babb, Jason McAte ...
'' magazine Natasha Shishmanian when they became golf partners in the
All*Star Cup ''The All-Star Cup'' (stylised as "All*Star Cup") is a celebrity Golf match first held at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport in 2005 that pitted two teams of celebrities against each other in a Ryder Cup-style competition. The first series was a ...
celebrity tournament in Newport – 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 ( , ) is a municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With an estimated population of 60,995 inhabitants in 2019 (with 39,733 inhabitants in the city proper, ...
the following weekend that was attended by Evans's former wife Piper. The couple have four children. 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 as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...
concert at the Royal Albert Hall. 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 These drugs are known in the UK as ''controlled drugs'', because this is the term by which the act itself refers to them. In more general terms, however, many of these drugs are also controlled by the Medicines Act 1968, there are many other dru ...
-taking. A fan of fast cars, and particularly Ferraris, 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 jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...
after being stopped by
Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force t ...
when driving at on the A3 road in
Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...
in January 2001. In 2005 Evans crashed his silver
575M Maranello The Ferrari 575M Maranello (Type F133) is a two-seat, two-door, grand tourer manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. Launched in 2002, it is essentially an updated 550 Maranello featuring minor styling changes from Pininfarina. ...
into a verge near his then Surrey home. On 18 May 2008, Evans attended RM Auctions/
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
Ferrari auction in
Maranello Maranello ( Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, 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 1 rac ...
, Italy, and bought a 1961 250 GT Spyder California SWB formerly owned by US actor James Coburn for the then world record price of 6.4 million euros. In May 2010 he bought a 1963
Ferrari 250 GTO The Ferrari 250 GTO is a GT car produced by Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. It was powered by Ferrari's ''Tipo 168/62'' Colombo V12 engine. The "250" in its name denotes the displa ...
, 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 a member of crew aboard the sailing yacht ''Nausicaa'' with six other people, when James Ward – landlord of the White Horse in
Hascombe Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a large cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green, a fountain, pond, a central public house and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides. History Above the ...
, Surrey, which was then Evans' local pub – drowned in an accident in
The Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...
. In September 2007, Evans and Shishmanian started taking
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
lessons at
Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in the parish of Lancing in West Sussex, England. It has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying i ...
. Evans is a first cousin of the father of former Scottish Rugby internationals Max Evans and
Thom Evans Thom Evans (born 2 April 1985) is a Scottish former international rugby union player and model. He last played on the wing for Glasgow Warriors in the Celtic League. Evans's rugby career ended aged 24 on his tenth appearance for Scotland when ...
. Evans is a supporter of the Labour Party; he also donated £100,000 to former Labour MP Ken Livingstone's mayoral campaign when he stood as an independent candidate in 2000. Evans is also an ambassador for
The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...
. On 15 November 2016, Evans was awarded an honorary degree from York St John's University, he was presented this by university's chancellor Archbishop Dr John Sentamu at York Minster. On 3 May 2018, Evans' mother Minnie died, at the age of 92. His Radio 2 Breakfast show was presented, until 8.30, by regular co-presenter
Vassos Alexander Born Vassos Alexander Georgiadis is a British sports reporter, presenter, author and endurance runner. He is currently the sports presenter of '' The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' on Virgin Radio. Alexander hosts the Parkrun podcast, he is a mot ...
.


Shows hosted

The following lists are the main shows Evans has presented:


Television


Radio

*
Piccadilly Radio Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
, Saturday afternoons & weekday evenings (1986–1987) *
BBC GLR BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the London ...
, 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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, ''Too Much Gravy'', Sundays, 2:30 pm – 4 pm (March – September 1992) *
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
, 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, 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 Wireless Group which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the UK: t ...
, Weekday Breakfast Show, 6:30–10:00 am (21 January 2019–present)


Bibliography

To date, 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 with Sky on Virgin Radio UK
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Chris 1966 births Living people BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters British car collectors Drinking establishment owners English radio DJs Businesspeople from Lancashire English television presenters English television producers Labour Party (UK) people People educated at Boteler Grammar School People from Warrington Broadcasters from Lancashire Virgin Radio (UK) English people of Welsh descent Top Gear people