Chris Evans to continue Radio 2 show despite sexual assault claims and Top Gear departure
Evans has announced he will be stepping down as presenter of Top Gear
Chris Evans has announced he is he is quitting his role as presenter of Top Gear after just one series.
“Stepping down from Top Gear,” Evans confirmed on Twitter on Monday (4 July). “Gave it my best shot but sometimes that’s not enough. The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best."
It follows the news the 50-year-old will continue to present his Radio 2 show as normal despite reports he faces questioning over historical sexual assault allegations.
A spokesperson for the BBC told The Independent: “Chris is doing his radio show as per normal. He was on today. He'll be on tomorrow.”
The Met Police sent over the following statement about a sexual assault incident to The Independent but said they couldn’t confirm it was related to Evans.
“An allegation of non-recent sexual assault was made to police on Monday, 23 May,” the statement reads.
“The allegation was made by a woman against a man. It relates to incidents in Tower Hamlets in the 1990s. There has been no arrest and no person has been interviewed under caution. Enquiries continue.”
Evans hosted Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast between 1992 and 1994 and more recently has hosted Top Gear alongside Matt LeBlanc. Following the departure of former presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, in June 2015 the BBC announced that Evans had signed a three-year deal to be the main presenter on the show but he only ended up presenting six episodes before he stepped down.
A representative for Evans did not immediately respond to request for comment.