Ex-Top Gear host Chris Evans makes a run for it after being caught swigging brandy and urinating at the side of the road
Concerns continue to mount for his well-being
CHRIS Evans decided to leg it after finishing presenting his BBC Radio Two today show rather than talk to waiting press in the wake of him being snapped boozing and urinating at the side of a busy motorway.
Sporting a baseball cap, sunglasses and running shoes, the 50-year-old was off like a shot the minute he got out of the door of the London-based studios.
He was spotted at the weekend in full view of drivers on the M4 near Heathrow as he knocked back posh Remy Martin cognac straight from the bottle.
The ginger-haired personality was later seen at a north London pub with his nose firmly in a book entitled The Pressure Principle by Dr Dave Alred.
The front cover declared: “Handle stress, harness energy and perform when it counts.”
Pals fear that Chris’ life is spiralling out of control after the new series of Top Gear bombed forcing him to resign and a former colleague made a historic sex allegation to cops.
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They are also worried that all this has put a huge strain on his nine-year marriage to Natasha Shishmanian.
The pair have weathered storms before but it’s understood his work schedule has meant they haven’t spent much time together during his tough few months.
They say he is spending a lot of time in London, often unwinding with boozing, and less with Natasha and their two young kids Noah, seven and Eli, four, at their home in Berkshire.
The BBC have allowed him to continue hosting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show despite the sex allegation and he has a flat nearby to help with the early starts.
But his early starts and early finishes mean he’s spending a lot of time in the pub and was recently pictured in tears outside a bar holding a wine glass.
A source told The Sun: “Chris is drinking often and not spending a lot of time with his family.
“He’s had a really difficult time recently and that has not helped his marriage.
“He’s been working incredibly hard to balance his Radio 2 show with Top Gear and hasn’t had time for anything else.
“And he’s been coping with the stress by going out rather than going home.”
He’s also been coping with his beloved mum Minnie’s failing health.
The 91-year-old was admitted to hospital earlier this year and he broke down on Top Gear while talking about the first car his mum bought him when he was 17.
Last year he admitted he had been to see a marriage counsellor and stunned viewers of Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch when he said he didn’t think marriage worked.