Mum was incredible but she needed to be at peace... it was a life won, not a battle lost
DJ Chris Evans on death of his mother
a picture of a yellow rose on social media, dedicating the show to Chris with the words: “So keep your head high, keep your chin up and most importantly, keep smiling because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.” In January 2017, Chris posted a photo of Minnie on social media trying pizza for the first time and said on radio that she once had eye surgery without any anaesthetic. He told listeners: “She’s lived through World War Two and is hard as nails”.
In 2016, Chris revealed on Top Gear his mum’s health was failing and that she had been in hospital. He was at her bedside just hours before he began filming.
He said at the time: “The last thing I did before we recorded the first show was visit my mum in hospital because she’s not very well. She’s still quite ill.”
He added: “Of course, it does put MISSED Minnie with her husband Martin, who died when Chris was 14
everything into perspective a bit. Sure, Top Gear matters, but it isn’t real life.”
Minnie later moved from Warrington, Cheshire, to be close to Chris in Berkshire.
Minnie was her son’s rock, and Chris would often lean on her for advice.
She recently told the star to “earn what you can, when you can, while you can” amidst the backlash over his top €2.5million BBC salary.
Evans recently announced that he is expecting twins with wife Natasha.
The star broke the news on his breakfast show, when he asked for
advice about having twins. The couple already have sons Eli, five, and Noah, nine.
Fans of his radio show praised Evans for the “lovely tribute” as they paid their respects on Twitter. Listener Louise Harvery said: “Much love to Chris Evans and family, I hope all the love sent by me and his fans helps him.”
Others included the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu and former sprinter Iwan Thomas, who posted: “Big love, your mum must have been very proud of you.”