Chris Evans quits Radio 2 breakfast show for £2m deal with Virgin

CHRIS EVANS has quit Radio 2’s Breakfast Show for a commercial radio rival after becoming the focus of criticism over his £2.2million BBC salary.

Evans, 52, whose BBC pay included his Top Gear fees, is thought to have been offered a £2million salary by Virgin Radio, despite the station having just a fraction of the listeners.

The presenter revealed yesterday morning that he is to leave Britain’s most popular radio show after 13 years, explaining: “Some of us are mountain climbers. If you get to the top of your favourite mountain and stay there, you become an observer. I want to keep climbing.”

An hour later came the surprise news that he is rejoining Virgin, the station from which he was sacked 20 years ago after ringing in sick and embarking on a week-long pub crawl.

At Radio 2, Evans has nine million listeners. Virgin’s entire output reaches just 413,000 people each week. However, News UK, Virgin’s owner, is keen to relaunch the station.

Insiders said Evans had been left smarting by the reaction when his status as the BBC’S highest-paid presenter became public last year.

He was forced to defend himself on air at the time, saying: “What do you say when confronted with the question, ‘Are you embarrassed about what you earn? Are you ashamed of what you earn?’ How do you react to that when all you’re doing is coming to work every day like you have been for years to fulfil an agreed contract?”

The most recent BBC accounts put his pay at £1.6-1.7million.

Evans, who has sons Noah, nine, and Eli, six, with his third wife, Natasha, announced in April that she is expecting twins. He also has a grown-up daughter from a previous relationship.