Good Evans! Has Chris won over Sir Terry's army of TOGs?

Chris Evans may have made a name for himself as a maverick, but yesterday, as he settled into the still warm chair left by Sir Terry Wogan, he was determined to play it safe.

There had been much talk as to his choice of opening record. The early favourite was Rod Stewart's Maggie May, others had suggested Lulu's Shout! and those who had still not come to terms with Sir Tel's departure dared to hope for The Floral Dance.

In the end, Evans went for a classic. At 7.05am yesterday, The Beatles' All You Need Is Love marked the start of the new chapter for Radio 2 and sent a signal to Terry's Old Geezer/ Gals that they needn't switch off just yet.

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There was no big statement of intent, no grandiose introductions, just three "quiet" cheers for Moira Stewart who returns to the BBC as the show's newsreader and touch of class and a brief announcement by Evans that he had titled the show "Peace and Love and Let This Be a Force For Good".

Aware of the grim predictions that he may very well lose one million listeners in the first few weeks, Evans did his best not to rock the boat with a conservative playlist of Frank Sinatra, The Seekers and Neil Diamond and a format which owed much to his successful drivetime

show.

Referring to his previous stints on Radio One and Virgin Radio, both of which ended in controversy as Evans's ego got the better of him, he promised there would be no repeat performance of the bad old days when he called in sick only to be photographed down the pub hours later.

"Buckle up now guys," he said. "But not too tight for it's going to be a long but pleasant ride. This time I can guarantee there will be very little, if any turbulence at all, but of course that doesn't mean we're not going to have fun."

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For the most part it was predictable stuff, but just as Radio 2 bosses could have been forgiven for letting out a sigh of relief, it was time for the mystery guest slot where Evans has to conduct an "interesting, stimulating and if it calls for it, humorous, three-minute interview" without any prior knowledge of the subject.

Yesterday, the guest was Shaun Jones – a man who blows up hot water bottles for fun – and whose physical exertions seemed to have gone to his head as he rambled on uncontrollably.

Next to Evans's previous exploits – he once said he hated Anthea Turner's new show so much he wanted to "kick her in the mouth" – it was mild stuff and for the most part the genial TOGs seemed in forgiving mood.

"I'm thoroughly enjoying it," said one of the many messages of support posted online. "No, it's not the same as Sir Tel and, yes, it is similar to his drivetime slot, but he did say he'd be keeping some stuff in and I'm glad he has... well done, Chris, very big shoes to fill and I think you're doing admirably."

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With an audience as large as Sir Tel's – 7.93 million at the last count – Evans was never going to be universally liked and while his style is positively horizontal compared with his days on The Big Breakfast, it still proved too much for some, who complained about the "noisy features" and his "manic" approach to early mornings. "Awful isn't the best word to describe it," added one. "But it will do."

True there were some odd moments, not least one listener playing Happy Birthday on the clarinet to another, but by the time he handed over to Ken Bruce, Evans knew he had a lot to be thankful for.

"Thank the heavens," he wrote later on his blog. "A. For giving us ye olde job in the first place. B. For the first show going without a hitch. We got all our music away and miraculously were more or less on time."

So the seed has been sown and it's onwards from here. As Ken said, only 26 years and 364 more shows to go.

"We're happy to serve."

CHRIS EVANS: THE STORY SO FAR...

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It was radio where it all began for Chris Evans who started as a producer on London radio station GLR before becoming the station's star DJ.

He became a household name as host of The Big Breakfast in 1992. More success followed with Don't Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday and for a while it seemed Evans could do no wrong.

In 1996, things began to unravel when he quit the Radio 1 breakfast show after his plans to work a four-day week were refused.

Joining and later buying Virgin Radio, Evans enjoyed a brief comeback towards the end of the 1990s, but there were signs he was losing his touch and he soon disappeared from the limelight.

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Following marriage to and divorce from Billie Piper, he took over Johnnie Walker's drivetime show in 2006.

Despite a flurry of initial complaints, Evans proved that behind the microphone was where he was truly at home and last year won two Sony awards, including Music Radio Personality of the Year.

Evans is a keen golfer and, in 2007, he married golf professional Natasha Shishmanian. Their son Noah was born last year.

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