UPDATE 4th July:
Police have confirmed that they are investigating Evans over an alleged sexual assault from the 1990s. Click here for the full story.
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BBC broadcaster Chris Evans is due to be questioned by police after they received an allegation about a sexual offence, Heat Street can exclusively reveal.
Sources said today that the Top Gear and Radio 2 host will be spoken to “in the near future” by Metropolitan Police officers after the complaint against him was lodged – apparently by a former colleague.
The suggestion of police involvement comes after Heat Street published a string of stories about allegations relating to 50-year-old Evans’s past behaviour.
The stories include:
• A group of Evans’ former colleagues writing publicly available Facebook posts in April stating that in the 1990s the presenter frequently exposed his penis to them and bullied staff on Channel 4 show The Big Breakfast. A man claiming to be called “John Smith” who answered the phone at Evans’ agent’s house dismissed the claims at the time as “an old chestnut”.
• Evans’ former business partner John Revell claiming in May that Evans could be “vile” and was “out of control”. He urged the BBC to investigate Evans. Evans’ agent did not comment on this.
• Another former colleague who worked with Evans in the 1990s alleging to Heat Street that he “grabbed” her breasts and for almost two years “relentlessly” exposed his penis to her, sometimes while aroused. Evans’ agent did not comment on this.
• Lisa Clark, who was Top Gear’s executive producer until December, apparently creating a “paper trail” of complaints against the presenter and alerting BBC executives to her concerns about his behaviour. She left the show abruptly in December after challenging him during a meeting, according to friends.
In April it was also reported in the Sun that earlier this year Evans shouted at a female Radio 2 colleague so aggressively that he reduced her to tears and a third party had to step in to defuse the situation.
In May, Heat Street disclosed that the Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen had written to BBC chief Lord Hall asking him to investigate the various claims.
Hall wrote back to Bridgen last month saying he was confident that Evans had no questions to answer.
In his response, Hall wrote: “As you would expect I have wanted to look very carefully at the specific issues you raise and give this matter proper consideration. I have spoken to Mark Linsey, Director of BBC Studios, and Bob Shennan Controller, Radio 2, who have assured me that there is no truth to the suggestion that Chris Evans’ behaviour either on the set of Top Gear or on the breakfast show at Radio 2 has been unprofessional. Chris Evans’ past issues, both at work and in his personal life, have been well documented in the media. I am very satisfied that since he rejoined the BBC he has met the standards expected of him. As Editor-in-Chief I have made it a priority to see that the right procedures are in place to make sure that any allegations of misconduct are properly investigated, should a member of staff wish to raise a concern. There has been a comprehensive overhaul of the BBC’s Bullying and Harassment procedures and a focus on creating a culture where people feel confident they can raise concerns, through a range of available channels, and that they will be dealt with appropriately. The BBC’s position on conduct in the workplace is very clear and the rules apply to everyone, irrespective of their role or profile.”
In an interview with the Sunday Times in 2005, Evans admitted his penchant for exposing himself at work.
The newspaper reported that Evans “frequently exposed himself at the offices of Ginger Media Group, which owned Virgin Radio and television shows such as TFI Friday. He would interrupt meetings by standing up to pull down his tracksuit bottoms to reveal that he was sexually aroused.”
At the time, Evans told the newspaper: “If you get your willy out, it’s the funniest thing in the world. Everybody laughs, everyone of our generation. I wouldn’t do it in front of my mum, for example. Girls love it; boys -‘Oh, I can’t believe you did that’. It also takes the night to a new level. I actually haven’t done it for a while. But I will do it again.”
Tomorrow, the sixth and final episode of the new series of Top Gear, hosted by Evans and Matt LeBlanc, is scheduled to air on BBC2. It is due to be shown in dozens of territories around the world, including on BBC America, next week.
A BBC spokesman refused to comment, saying Heat Street should consult Evans’ agent, Michael Foster, and Sal Porter, who works at Evans’ PR agency, Freuds.
Despite repeated requests to Mr Foster and Ms Porter for comment, neither returned calls.
