Give Evans' show a chance, pleads Sir Terry

SIR Terry Wogan has sprung to the defence of his breakfast show successor Chris Evans, urging people to give him a chance to settle in.

Evans has faced a backlash from some listeners since taking over Sir Terry's BBC Radio 2 show, with bookie William Hill offering odds on Evans quitting before the end of the year. But writing on his blog, Sir Terry said it had taken years for him to properly bed down in the job.

He said of his loyal followers, nicknamed Togs: "I asked all Togs to welcome Chris with open minds and hearts, and I know that they have. They know, better than most, that it took me years and years to build a loyal audience.

"Chris has had six weeks! I'm trying to build a new audience myself on a Sunday morning… Give us a chance."

One Wogan fan responded, "Absolutely!" on Sir Terry's website, while another added, "Well said!"

Listening figures for the final quarter of 2009 showed that Sir Terry bowed out of his breakfast show at the top, with an average of 8.1 million people tuning in each week, matching his biggest audience.

Sir Terry had fronted the breakfast slot for 27 years, building up the biggest morning show audience in Europe. He has returned with a new Sunday show called Weekend Wogan.

Some listeners have suggested that Richard Allinson, Evans' stand-in while he takes a week's break, should take over full time.