on air now
KayCee Rossouw
up next
The Drive With Roland Gaspar
Chris Evans quit Top Gear as he could no longer bear taking the blame for the show's much-criticised revamp and haemorrhaging viewer figures, a close friend has revealed.
The motormouth presenter confessed to those in his inner circle that he was sick of being targeted by the press over his hosting of the BBC mainstay.
He revealed that the stress of following in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson had plunged him into a deep sadness that was starting to impact on his personal life.
A friend told The Telegraph: 'Every single day he has been accused of a different thing, all of which have been completely untrue.
'In the end you just think, "f*** off and die".
'If the show had done better, perhaps the battering would have been less bad. But he just thinks doing this will make him and his family happier. It is as simple as that.'
Evans confirmed his departure from the show yesterday afternoon - only hours after police confirmed he was being investigated over claims he sexually assaulted a woman in the 1990s.
The announcement came after a former colleague claimed Evans had grabbed her breasts and exposed himself on a daily basis after she refused to sleep with him.
The complaint was made to police six days before the latest series of Top Gear made its debut in May.
Shortly after yesterday's police statement Evans, 50 ? one of the BBC's best-paid presenters ? wrote on Twitter that he was leaving Top Gear, which has suffered declining ratings.
The BBC said he would not be replaced.
Evans wrote: 'Gave it my best shot but sometimes that's not enough. The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best.'
He said he would continue to present his Radio 2 breakfast show.
Broadcasting live this morning, Evans today told listeners his show ?is dedicated to all the Top Gear gang? ? and said he was calling the programme: ?Breathe in, breathe out and move on?.
But his controversial exit from the show after just one series was not mentioned in Moira Stuart?s news bulletin.
The married father of three, who has not been arrested, is now likely to be questioned by detectives over the allegations against him.
Last month the alleged victim accused Evans of sexually assaulting her when they worked together while he was one of Britain's biggest television stars and the host of Channel 4's The Big Breakfast and BBC Radio 1's breakfast show.
In a newspaper interview, she said: 'Chris wanted an affair with me but I didn't want to because he was with someone else at the time. So he sent me to Coventry. He told colleagues not to talk to me. It was bullying behaviour.
'He often said I was c**p at my job and would sometimes grab my breasts. I became totally desensitised to his behaviour. He would scream, shout and swear at me.'
She told the Heat Street website her complaints were ignored by his production team at the time, leaving her traumatised and on anti-depressants.
