Chris Evans (presenter)

For other people with the same name, see Christopher Evans.

Chris Evans
Evans in 2010
Born
Christopher James Evans

(1966-04-01) 1 April 1966 (age 58)
Warrington, England
Education
Occupations
  • Television presenter
  • disc jockey
  • producer
Years active1983–2002, 2005–present
EmployerVirgin Radio UK
Television
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1991; div. 1998)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2001; div. 2007)​
  • Natasha Shishmanian
    ​
    (m. 2007)​
Children5
Relatives
Websitevirginradio.co.uk/the-chris-evans-breakfast-show

Christopher James Evans (born 1 April 1966[1]) 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 and then Channel 4 television, where The Big Breakfast 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 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 every weekday morning. He presented The One Show 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[2] 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.[3]

On 3 September 2018, he announced that he would be leaving The Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Christmas Eve, and would be going to Virgin Radio UK to present its breakfast show.[4][5] He moved from BBC Radio 2 with most of his regular team.

  1. ^ "Chris Evans". Chris Evans Breakfast Show (BBC Radio 2). Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Chris Evans to be new Top Gear presenter". BBC News. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Chris Evans to step down as Top Gear presenter". BBC. 4 July 2016. Archived from the original on 4 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  4. ^ Savage, Mark (3 September 2018). "Chris Evans to leave Radio 2 breakfast". BBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. ^ "HE'S BACK! CHRIS EVANS RETURNS TO VIRGIN RADIO". Virgin Radio. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.