Evans Seen To Triumph

The battle of the breakfast shows (see yesterday’s Evans And Beamish) appears to have been won by Chris Evans, according to reviews in today’s papers. The Daily Telegraph comes out in strongest criticism of the new Radio 1 duo of Zoe Ball and Kevin Greening, saying that their show sounded as if they didn’t really want to be there and that the 6.30 to 9am slot felt “longer than a wet weekend.” The paper went on to say that the only way Radio 1 would avoid “total annihilation” would be on Fridays when Evans has a day off.

The only complement for Zoe ‘n Kev which the Times could find was that they are “competent” while Evans is described as a “brilliant broadcaster.” The Guardian found Radio 1 full of “babeism” while Ball herself was described as “contemporary, personable and utterly unmemorable”. The reviewer “defied anyone to remember, 10 minutes after the show had ended, anything that was said in it” and believed that in the end Evans’ shock tactics would be more appealing.

Tony Blackburn in the Sun found Radio 1’s show too scripted and could tell “that they hadn’t worked together before.” He also criticised the lack of music on offer, saying there was “too much chat.” On the same page Simon Bates described Chris Evans’ show as “real radio, the ragged edge of taste but never ever boring.”

Only the Mirror seemed to prefer Radio 1’s show, saying that Zoe ‘n Kev “have all the ingredients for a brilliant show” and complementing Zoe on her “easy banter” and “saucy side”. Evans meanwhile was criticised for a “used” and “tired” format with not enough music – 15 songs were played in the three hour slot. According to a Mirror poll 56% of readers preferred Zoe ‘n Kev while Evans scored 44%.