Chris Evans

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.

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, Radio 1 controller Matthew Bannister. Critics hated innuendo-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 programs. The audience grew as the breakfast format became more outrageous: humiliating assistant Holly Samos 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 7.5million. Read Less

The Radio 1 Breakfast Show was taken over by Mark and Lard a.k.a. Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley. 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 and the well known children's TV presenter Zoë Ball. Their tenure started on 13 October 1997.

During a holiday in Killarney, he listened to the Irish broadcaster, Gerry Ryan 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 to host its breakfast show, prompting an immediate upsurge in listening figures to the station 1.8 million to 2.6 million. Read Less

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 for Channel 4, Johnny Vegas: 18 Stone of Idiot for Channel 4 / E4; OFI Sunday for ITV; Live With Christian O'Connell and Live With Chris Moyles for Five; 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 and Evans' former Big Breakfast co-host Gaby Roslin to host a weekday morning magazine show, The Terry and Gaby Show. 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. Read Less