Mothers always know best:


'Earn what you can, when 

you can, while you can' 


Chris Evans and his mother Minnie in 2000

Chris Evans and his mother Minnie in 2000

Mum's advice when Chris Evans called her to ask how

he should defend himself against abuse over his £2

million 'bloated blokes' BBC salary

  • Millionaire presenter Chris Evans revealed to be paid
  •  £2.2million-a-year by BBC. 
  • Row has broken out after it emerged the top seven 
  • earning stars were all men.
  • Evans rang his mother Minnie, 91, to ask for advice on
  •  how to deal with backlash.
  • Claims she told him: ' Earn what you can, when 
  • you can, while you can.'




Millionaire presenter Chris Evans has revealed he called his elderly mother to ask for advice on how to deal with abuse following the revelation that he is paid £2.2million a year by the BBC.
The Radio 2 breakfast show and former Top Gear star 
said the 91-year-old former nurse, Minnie, told him to 'earn 
what you can, when you can, while you can' during a telephone
 conversation in the wake of Wednesday's revelations
 on pay for top talent.
The Prime Minister yesterday accused the Corporation of
 'paying women less for doing the same job as the men'.
The top seven earning stars were all men, as were 62 of the 
96 on the list, there were no female names in any category 
above £500,000 and half of all the women in the list 
were in the lowest band.
One of the BBC's own stars even branded Radio 2 as 
'extraordinarily male and entirely pale' yesterday. 

Woman's Hour host Jane Garvey lambasted the station 
as it emerged that Radio 2 hosts Evans, Jeremy Vine
 and Graham Norton are three of the four best-paid stars 
at the BBC – earning nearly £4million between them. 


Jane Garvey, who presents Women's Hour on Radio 2, did not make 
the list of those paid £150,000 or more, while colleague Evans, 
pictured today, topped the list, with a salary of £2.25million
The BBC now faces having to pay out tens of millions of pounds 
to even up the imbalance – in a move that is likely to send 
its £194million-a-year talent bill soaring. 
Evans acknowledged the backlash after conducting an 
almost breathless round-up of Thursday's newspapers, featuring
 headlines such as 'Bloated Blokes Club' and 'Awkward!'
Evans said: 'There's lots of news in the papers about lots of 
different things, but also there's quite a bit to say the least 
about the BBC, as you can imagine.
'Here's a question - what do you say when confronted with 
the question: are you embarrassed about what you earn? 
Are you ashamed of what you earn? How do you react to 
that question when all you're doing is coming to work every day
 like you have been for years to fulfil an agreed contract?
'Frankly, I had no idea what to say. I've been asked that question 
and so have many of my colleagues over the last 24 hours.
 I was asked that again this morning by a film crew as I ran into work.


'So here's what I did. I called my mum. She's 91, she's very
 wise, she was in the war, and I asked her what she thought.
'She said: 'Hang on a minute, love, let me just turn
the telly down', she was watching Columbo on catch-up
 at the time, as she often is.
'She said: 'Tell them that your mum, who's a nurse for most 
of her life, always told you after your dad died to try to find a job
 you loved, just like I love nursing, and earn what you can, 
when you can, while you can - which you did almost straight 
away from when you were a paper boy earning £1.50 a week
 for freezing your bits off and falling off your bike every two minutes,
 right through until what you're doing now.
''And tell them - if your bosses don't think you're worth it one
 day, they'll sort that out soon enough'.'
Evans added: 'So there you are - I'm going with what my mum
 said and that's it. I don't think you tune in to this show to hear
 us talk about these things but I had to say that this morning 
and had to be right and proper that I said that.
'I thank my mum for advice, as always, I live by 
her word and I will die by her word.'