History of Chris Evans (presenter) in Timeline
Chris Evans is a prominent English television and radio personality. Starting at Piccadilly Radio, he rose to fame on Channel 4's 'The Big Breakfast.' His success led to lucrative positions, including BBC Radio 1 Breakfast and 'TFI Friday,' characterized by celebrity interviews, music, and irreverent humor. He became the UK's highest-paid entertainer by 2000 and, in 2017, was the BBC's highest-paid presenter. His career is marked by both high ratings and occasional controversy.
6 hours ago : Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal star in 'Materialists', sparking fan excitement.
Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal are starring in 'Materialists'. A flirty photoshoot of the stars has sparked fan excitement. The movie is about love and money.
November 1921: Birth of Martin Joseph Evans
Martin Joseph Evans, Chris Evans' father, was born in November 1921.
1926: Birth of Minnie Beardsall
In 1926, Minnie Beardsall, Chris Evans' mother, was born.
1953: Birth of David Evans
In 1953, David Evans, Chris Evans' brother, was born.
1961: Former owner of 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB
In 1961, US actor James Coburn owned a Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB, which Chris Evans later bought in May 2008.
1963: Birth of Diane Evans
In 1963, Diane Evans, Chris Evans' sister, was born.
1963: Ferrari GTO built
In 1963, the Ferrari 250 GTO was built, one of which Chris Evans later bought in May 2010 for £12 million.
April 1966: Birth of Chris Evans
In April 1966, Christopher James Evans was born. He is an English television presenter, radio DJ and producer for radio and television.
April 1979: Started Part-time Work After Father's Death
After the death of his father on Wednesday, 24 April 1979, the 13-year-old Chris Evans took part-time work at an outlet of T. J. & B. McLoughlin's newsagent–tobacconist in Woolston.
April 1979: Death of Chris Evans' Father
On 25 April 1979, Chris Evans' father, Martin Joseph Evans, died of colorectal cancer.
1983: Started Professional Career at Piccadilly Radio
In 1983, Chris Evans began his professional career at Piccadilly Radio, Manchester, where he had previously done unpaid schoolboy work.
1984: Full-time position at Piccadilly Radio
In 1984, Chris Evans switched to a full-time position at Piccadilly Radio, which included being driven around the Manchester area in the radio car and being a producer for presenter James H. Reeve.
1984: Three Jobs at Once
Until 1984, Chris Evans had three jobs: as an assistant to Timmy Mallett, acting as a disc jockey in the evenings at local pubs, and still working at the newsagents.
1986: Birth of daughter, Jade
In 1986, Chris Evans's daughter, Jade, was born to former fiancée Alison Ward.
1990: Hosted Saturday afternoons on GLR, then The Greenhouse
In early 1990, Chris Evans was given the chance to present his own show on GLR, taking over Saturday afternoons. Three months later, he started presenting The Greenhouse, a Monday-to-Thursday evening show, remaining in this slot until the end of 1990.
1991: Marriage to Carol McGiffin
Chris Evans married Carol McGiffin in 1991.
1991: Started presenting Round at Chris's
In 1991, Chris 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.
March 1992: Started presenting Too Much Gravy on BBC Radio 1
In March 1992, Chris Evans began presenting Too Much Gravy, a Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio 1, replacing Phillip Schofield.
September 1992: Started Co-hosting The Big Breakfast
From 28 September 1992, Chris Evans co-hosted the Channel 4 breakfast television show, The Big Breakfast, with Gaby Roslin.
September 1992: Ended Too Much Gravy on BBC Radio 1
In September 1992, Chris Evans' show, Too Much Gravy, on BBC Radio 1 ended.
April 1993: End of Round at Chris's
Chris Evans stopped presenting Round at Chris's in April 1993.
April 1993: Joined Virgin Radio
In April 1993, Chris Evans left GLR and joined the new Virgin Radio, to host a Saturday morning show.
1993: Break up with Carol McGiffin
Chris Evans and Carol McGiffin broke up in 1993.
September 1994: Left The Big Breakfast and formed Ginger Productions
On 29 September 1994, Chris Evans left The Big Breakfast and formed his own television production company, Ginger Productions.
April 1995: Returned to radio to host Radio 1 Breakfast Show
In April 1995, Chris Evans returned to radio to host the flagship Radio 1 Breakfast Show, negotiating a contract allowing him to make television programmes and requiring the show to be produced independently by his Ginger company.
December 1995: Fined after pub-crawl
In December 1995, Chris Evans was fined one day's pay, £7,000, after taking his crew out on a 17-hour pub-crawl that ended two hours before they were due on air.
1995: Don't Forget Your Toothbrush was broadcast
Chris Evans' television production company, Ginger Productions, broadcast its first major programme, Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, between 1994 and 1995.
1996: Started TFI Friday on Channel 4
From 1996, Chris Evans began making editions of Channel 4's TFI Friday, which he devised, produced and hosted through his Ginger Media company.
1996: Complaints and demands at Radio 1
In 1996, broadcasting watchdogs investigated a continual trail of complaints against Chris Evans' show on Radio 1. Chris Evans also made increasing public demands of the Radio 1 management.
January 1997: Quit Radio 1
In January 1997, Chris Evans's spell at Radio 1 ended when he quit after his demand not to host the show on Friday was not accepted.
October 1997: Joined Virgin Radio
Chris Evans was hired by Virgin Radio to host its breakfast show. His first show was on 13 October 1997, the same day as Kevin Greening and Zoë Ball on Radio 1.
October 1997: Mark and Lard took over Radio 1 Breakfast Show
On 13 October 1997, Mark and Lard (Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley) took over The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, succeeding Chris Evans. They were later replaced by Kevin Greening and Zoe Ball.
1998: Divorces Carol McGiffin
Chris Evans and Carol McGiffin divorced in 1998.
1998: Out-of-court arrangement reached with Ward
In 1998, Chris Evans and Alison Ward reached an out-of-court arrangement whereby Evans provided a home for his daughter and an allowance to Ward.
March 2000: Agrees to sale of Ginger Media Group
On 14 March 2000, Chris Evans agreed to the sale of Ginger Media Group to Scottish Media Group for £225 million, making him the highest-paid entertainer in the UK in 2000.
May 2000: Radio station fined
In May 2000, Chris Evans continued to host the breakfast show and the station was fined £75,000 for his repeated on-air endorsement of Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral elections.
May 2000: Meets Billie Piper
In May 2000, Chris Evans met teenage pop star Billie Piper.
December 2000: TFI Friday cancelled
Following poor reviews, and after Chris Evans handed over presentation of the last series of the show to a series of "friends", TFI Friday was cancelled in December 2000.
2000: Highest paid entertainer
In 2000, Chris Evans was the UK's highest paid entertainer, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
January 2001: Banned from driving
In January 2001, Chris Evans was banned from driving for 56 days and fined £600 after admitting to speeding at 105 mph in Esher.
May 2001: Marries Billie Piper
On 6 May 2001, Chris Evans married Billie Piper in Las Vegas in a ceremony attended by six guests.
June 2001: Dismissed from Virgin Radio
Chris Evans was dismissed from Virgin Radio on 28 June 2001 for repeatedly failing to arrive at work after an "18-hour bender".
August 2002: Founded UMTV
In August 2002, Chris Evans set up a radio and television production company called UMTV.
August 2002: Crew member drowns on Evans's yacht
In August 2002, while Chris Evans was onboard the sailing yacht Nausicaa, crew member James Ward was struck by a sailing boom, knocked overboard, and drowned.
June 2003: Lost lawsuit against SMG Television Ltd.
On 26 June 2003, Justice Lightman ruled that Chris Evans was fairly dismissed from Virgin Radio and was not entitled to share options in the judgement of Evans v SMG Television Ltd. & Ors 2003 EWHC 1423 (Ch). He was publicly criticised for his attitude by the judge.
2003: McGiffin critical of Evans in newspaper articles
In 2003, Carol McGiffin was critical of Chris Evans in newspaper articles.
September 2004: Trial separation from Piper
In September 2004, news stories circulated regarding a trial separation between Chris Evans and Billie Piper. Evans at the time had a stall at Camden Market where he sold furniture and paintings.
April 2005: Presented UK Radio Aid
In early 2005, Chris Evans presented 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 stations. 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.
September 2005: Joined Radio 2 on a permanent basis
In September 2005, Chris Evans joined Radio 2 on a permanent basis, presenting a weekly Saturday afternoon show.
December 2005: Presents OFI Sunday on ITV
In November and December 2005, Chris Evans presented OFI Sunday on ITV. The show was cancelled after just five shows following poor reviews and low viewing figures.
2005: Gifts caddy £10,000 diamond
At the 2005 All*Star Cup celebrity tournament, Chris Evans gave his 17-year-old caddy, Natalie Harrison, a £10,000 Russian Kristall Smolensk diamond he won for the quality of his play.
2005: Crashes Ferrari
In 2005, Chris Evans crashed his silver Ferrari 575M Maranello into a verge near his then Surrey home.
2005: New career on BBC Radio 2
In 2005, Chris Evans started a new career on BBC Radio 2.
2005: Piper and Evans to divorce
In 2005, it was confirmed that Chris Evans and Billie Piper would divorce, with Piper publicly stating that she would take no money from Evans.
March 2006: Succeeds Johnnie Walker on Radio 2
In March 2006, Chris Evans was announced as the successor to Radio 2's Drive time show, taking over from Johnnie Walker, with his first show airing on 18 April 2006.
April 2006: Drivetime programme on BBC Radio 2
In April 2006, Chris Evans started hosting his long-running Drivetime programme on BBC Radio 2.
August 2006: Initial RAJAR audience figures published
RAJAR audience figures published in August 2006 showed Chris Evans had 150,000 fewer listeners than Johnnie Walker's last show but was on par with previous years.
October 2006: RAJAR audience figures increase
The second set of RAJAR figures published in October 2006 showed Chris Evans's audience was up by 109,000 year-on-year, and up by 33,000 compared with the previous quarter, drawing an average audience of 4.9 million a day on his drivetime show.
2006: Hosted The BRIT Awards
Chris Evans hosted The BRIT Awards in both 2005 and 2006.
May 2007: Divorces Billie Piper
Almost three years after they had separated, Chris Evans and Billie Piper divorced in May 2007.
August 2007: Marries Natasha Shishmanian
Chris Evans married Natasha Shishmanian in August 2007, with a reception held in Faro, Portugal, attended by Evans's former wife Piper.
September 2007: Starts helicopter lessons
In September 2007, Chris Evans and Natasha Shishmanian started taking helicopter lessons at Shoreham Airport.
2007: Drivetime show listener average
By the end of 2007, Chris Evans's drivetime show was averaging over five million listeners.
2007: Wins Awards
In 2007, Chris Evans won 'music radio personality' for a second year, while his show won the Entertainment award. Chris Evans was also voted the 82nd most influential media personality in The Guardian newspaper's poll.
March 2008: Evans admits taking magic mushrooms
In March 2008, Chris Evans said in his Radio 2 blog that he had taken "magic mushrooms" two days before attending a Meat Loaf concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
May 2008: Buys Ferrari at auction
On 18 May 2008, Chris Evans bought a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB formerly owned by James Coburn for 6.4 million euros at auction in Maranello, Italy.
September 2009: Evans to take over Breakfast Show
On 7 September 2009, it was announced that Chris Evans would take over the breakfast show from Sir Terry Wogan, with his final drivetime show on Christmas Eve 2009.
2009: Narrates CBeebies Christmas pantomime
In 2009, Chris Evans narrated the CBeebies Christmas pantomime.
January 2010: Takes over Radio 2 breakfast show
In January 2010, Chris Evans took over the Radio 2 breakfast show from Sir Terry Wogan, initially extending the show's length and starting time. His first three songs were "All You Need Is Love" and "Got to Get You into My Life" by The Beatles, and "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra.
May 2010: Purchases Ferrari GTO
In May 2010 Chris Evans bought a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of only thirty-six built, for £12 million.
2010: Host of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and The One Show
In 2010, Chris Evans moved to host The Chris Evans Breakfast Show every weekday morning, and started presenting The One Show on Fridays, which he did until 2015.
2010: Joins The One Show
In 2010, Chris Evans replaced Adrian Chiles as the Friday co-presenter of The One Show on BBC One, working with Alex Jones.
January 2011: Presents Famous and Fearless
In January 2011, Chris Evans presented a new reality show called Famous and Fearless on Channel 4, where celebrities competed in teams.
February 2011: Famous and Fearless axed
In February 2011, the show Famous and Fearless, presented by Chris Evans, was axed after one series due to poor ratings.
June 2011: Saunders replaced by Alexander
In June 2011, Jonny Saunders was replaced by Vassos Alexander as the sports presenter on Chris Evans's Radio 2 breakfast show.
2011: Co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park
Between 2011 and 2018, Chris Evans co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.
January 2015: Becomes a grandfather
On 9 January 2015, Chris Evans became a grandfather when his daughter Jade gave birth to her son.
June 2015: Signs to present Top Gear
On 16 June 2015, the BBC announced that Chris Evans had signed a three-year deal to be the main presenter on the BBC Two motoring show Top Gear.
2015: End of The One Show
Chris Evans presented The One Show on Fridays between 2010 and 2015.
2015: Signed deal to lead Top Gear and TFI Friday revival
In 2015, Chris Evans signed a three-year deal to lead a new Top Gear line-up and presented a revival series of TFI Friday.
February 2016: Top Gear co-presenters confirmed
In February 2016, Matt LeBlanc, Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris and Eddie Jordan were confirmed to be joining Chris Evans for the twenty third series of Top Gear.
May 2016: Top Gear series premiere
It was revealed that the new series of Top Gear would begin airing in May 2016 with Chris Evans as main presenter.
June 2016: LeBlanc threatens to quit Top Gear
In June 2016 it was reported that fellow presenter Matt LeBlanc had threatened to quit the show Top Gear unless Chris Evans was fired, because of inappropriate behaviour on set.
July 2016: Resigns from Top Gear
On 4 July 2016 Chris Evans announced that he had stepped down as presenter of Top Gear and cut his contract short by two years, following strong criticism of his presenting style.
July 2016: Stepping down as presenter of Top Gear
On 4 July 2016, Chris Evans announced that he would be stepping down as presenter of Top Gear.
November 2016: Awarded honorary degree
On 15 November 2016, Chris Evans was awarded an honorary degree from York St John University.
April 2017: Highest paid BBC presenter
In the tax year to April 2017, Chris Evans was the BBC's highest paid presenter, earning between £2.2 million and £2.25 million.
May 2018: Death of mother Minnie
On 3 May 2018, Chris Evans's mother Minnie died at the age of 92.
September 2018: Announces departure from Radio 2
On 3 September 2018, Chris Evans announced live on air his departure from the Radio 2 breakfast show and the station in December, to join Virgin Radio. Later that month, BBC Director General Lord Hall cited salary releases as a contributing factor.
September 2018: Leaving The Radio 2 Breakfast Show
On 3 September 2018, Chris Evans 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, moving with most of his regular team.
December 2018: Final Radio 2 show
Chris Evans's final show on Radio 2 was on 24 December 2018. He moved to Virgin with most of his Radio 2 team.
2018: Co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park
Between 2011 and 2018, Chris Evans co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.
2018: Death of Minnie Beardsall
In 2018, Minnie Beardsall, Chris Evans' mother, passed away.
January 2019: Zoe Ball to replace Evans
In January 2019, Zoe Ball replaced Chris Evans on the Radio 2 breakfast show after he left in December 2018.
August 2023: Auto rickshaw accident at festival
In August 2023 Chris Evans flipped over an auto rickshaw at his own festival in Hampshire and two passengers sustained minor injuries.
August 2023: Reveals melanoma diagnosis
On 21 August 2023, Chris Evans revealed he was being treated for melanoma.
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