He’s spent the last year away from the limelight, but now it seems presenter-turned-media mogul Chris Evans is set to make a comeback. Ready to return to the UK after a stint spent living in California with his pop star wife Billie Piper, the unpredictable ginger-haired celebrity has signed not one, but two new production deals.
After quitting Channel 4’s TFI Friday two years ago, Chris will return to the station to create a pair of new shows in a deal said to be worth £2 million. Promising his latest endeavours will be “unique”, he added: “We will try to create two stand-out television programmes unlike anything currently on the UK’s screens”.
One of his new projects for Channel 4 will be a primetime show called Boys And Girls, a “big-scale” one-hour studio-based series aimed at 16-34-year-olds. But bosses at the channel, who say they are “delighted” at Chris’s return, insist the new show won’t be a copycat of TFI Friday and Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush. “It’s bound to be something completely different yet again because that’s the way Chris works,” says a spokeswoman for the network.
The 35-year-old recently revealed he will also produce an afternoon TV show presented by Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles for Channel 5, in a deal rumoured to be worth around £4 million. Insiders say he’s also in discussion with the broadcaster about producing a morning show presented by Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin.