Chris Evans’ former business partner has called on the BBC to suspend the Top Gear host over bullying claims.
John Revell, who has known Evans for almost 30 years, told Heat Street he is “increasingly uncomfortable” about his alleged behaviour and accused BBC bosses of “utter hypocrisy” for not investigating the star, who will host the new series of Top Gear on BBC2 and BBC America this month with co-presenter Matt LeBlanc.
He also says he “knows for a fact” there is a paper trail of complaints against Evans within the BBC.
In an exclusive interview, Mr Revell said: “I was one of the first people Chris worked with when he came to London. I was his business partner. I started Ginger Productions with him and was his managing director. I was also his on-air sidekick at Virgin Radio and BBC Radio 1.
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“So I’ve known him for a very long time and knew him before he was famous. I’m often asked my opinion of Chris. I rarely give it but I wanted to speak out on claims of his bullying because I genuinely think it’s gone too far and it’s got to stop.
“He’s out of control. I had hoped he’d got to an age where he would have stopped bullying and shouting and screaming at people, but by all accounts he hasn’t. The BBC is unable to control him.”
Last week Heat Street revealed claims by former colleagues of Evans relating to his penchant for exposing his penis to them at work. At the time a man who answered Evans’ agent’s phone and called himself “John Smith” called the story an “old chestnut”.
And last month it was reported that Evans reduced a female producer on his Radio 2 show to tears in one incident, leading another member of staff to step in and tell Evans to stop.
In response to this, BBC Director of Studios Mark Linsey and Radio 2 boss Bob Shennan issued a statement backing Evans. The pair said: “Since taking on Top Gear alongside his Radio 2 breakfast show, Chris has displayed even greater commitment and professionalism.”
However, these claims have prompted Revell, 57, to speak out against Evans publicly.
He says: “Chris has a daughter. How would he feel if someone spoke to his daughter in that way? He’d be livid. This incident doesn’t surprise me. He’s relentless. I’ve been on the receiving end of it. It didn’t bother me because I have broad shoulders, but it really does affect a lot of people emotionally.
“The thing is, the BBC response to that recent episode was astonishing. They defended him. But Tony Hall is on record as saying he wants a zero tolerance bullying policy at the BBC. Hall’s own edict is not being met.”
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Fascinatingly, Revell, who has maintained strong links with the entertainment industry and co-owns BluesFest, reveals: “I know for a fact that within the BBC there is a paper trail which details specific complaints about Chris’s inappropriate behaviour and yet they’ve done nothing about that.
“Everybody knows he has a ferocious temper and I think the BBC management is just spineless. They won’t do anything about it for two reasons.
“Firstly, they’re scared to confront him because they’ve invested so much money in Top Gear and they know if they investigate it they’ll have to suspend him and the whole show could collapse, wasting a vast sum of public money. Secondly, I just think they’re scared of him screaming at them.”
Each Top Gear episode has a budget of about £750,000. To this must be added co-presenter Matt LeBlanc’s estimated £500,000 series fee plus Evans’s own £1 million fee as host and executive producer.
There were originally meant to be eight episodes of Top Gear but the series has been scaled back to six.
In December, five months into filming, senior producer Lisa Clark quit abruptly amid rumours – denied by the BBC – that she and Evans clashed.
Revell says: “If this was anyone else, they’d have been suspended. Because it’s him they’ve protected him and said he’s a great guy because he does work for Children in Need.
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“This is extremely serious. Workplace bullying is extremely serious. I think if Tony Hall genuinely means what he says, he should investigate Evans for bullying this girl at Radio 2.
“Plus, if there is on record a letter from senior management complaining about his behaviour, why isn’t that being investigated? Hall fired Tony Blackburn recently. When you compare that matter to what we’re discussing now, in the post-Savile climate the hypocrisy is stunning. That’s the reason I wanted to speak out on this. I don’t think it’s fair that he’s allegedly reduced this poor girl to tears and I know what he’s like.”
Revell added: “He can be absolutely vile. I’ve seen him turn on people and reduce them to tears. We had run-ins all the time because I would stand up to him.
“He’s like a spoilt child. If you say no to him he tends to lose his rag. If he’s challenged in a professional environment and he doesn’t like it, he would lose his rag. People are scared of him. I think BBC management are scared of him. And people around him are scared of him because he can control their destiny.”
The BBC said it would not comment.
Chris Evans’ agent, Michael Foster, did not respond to requests to comment.