Evans is new breakfast king

The Radio 2 DJ has broken the record for the most listeners ...

11:21 13 May 2010

Chris Evans rules the breakfast radio waves, new industry figures have revealed.

Not only has he kept Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles in second place, but redhead Evans has broken the record for the highest number of radio listeners.

Moyles was hoping to become the No 1 breakfast show host, and thought the he'd have the opportunity when long serving presenter Terry Wogan stepped down from the coveted slot.

However, despite earlier criticism from the public about the swap, Evans has proved a huge hit, pulling in a record 9.53 million listeners each week – the highest ever for a radio slot under the current ratings system which began in 1999.

Wogan left on a high with an audience of 8.1 million, who including his faithful following from TOGs (Terry's Old Geezers and Gals).

Evans had a lot to prove, but has surpassed expectations. He's added over a million more listeners to the BBC radio channel in his morning show which is half an hour longer than his veteran predecessor, sending overall Radio 2 listener figures soaring up to 14.5 million.

The figures by industry body Rajar reported that overall radio audience figures were up by 500,000 to a record total of 46.5 million.

6Music, which was put under threat of closure last year, had a 50% rise to just over a million, and Lisa Snowdon and Jonny Vaughn's slot on Capital FM remained the most listened to breakfast show in London, despite Magic taking over as the most listened to commercial radio station in the capital.