The Virgin Radio DJ, 52, presided over a segment which saw several of his team bring in baked goods from Mary Berry’s new cookbook, Quick Cooking, in a bid to impress her when she joined them on air to judge the dishes. His producer, Meera Depala, assistant producer Jane Cheeseman, and newsreader Rachel Horne all took part in the challenge, with the competitive atmosphere increasing during the course of the show. Ultimately, Mary, 84, praised all three amateur cooks and declared they were all winners. Later, Chris Evans poked fun at Rachel when she continued to show her competitive side.
“Did you win?” Rachel was asked, quickly replying: “It’s not about the winning.”
“That means no,” Chris laughed, as she instead: “We all won. We’re all winners. [Mary] said she couldn’t judge between us.”
“She daren’t,” host Chris chipped in, adding: “You know she was going to?
“She said, ‘Chris, do you really want me to declare a winner?’ and I pulled her back from the brink because she was willing to declare a winner.”
“I would have been interested to know what that was,” Rachel admitted, causing Chris to burst out laughing and point out that she “couldn’t help” herself.
The Breakfast Show presenter, who previously left his post at BBC Radio 2 to move to Virgin Radio, then proceeded to compliment all three of the dishes.
“I think, honestly, I would give Jane’s cheesecake the absolute win because it’s so delicate and so beautiful,” he admitted.
“It’s not fair, really. I couldn’t get anywhere near achieving what you lot have achieved.”
Addressing Rachel, Chris started to comment on the flapjacks she had produced, saying: “Yours, honestly, yours don’t look all that, your flapjack—”
“But mine do look like the picture, Mary said,” the news reporter interjected, slightly defensively.
Huffing, Chris insisted: “I’m trying to pay you a compliment.
“Goodness me, it’s so hard isn’t it,” he joked lightheartedly, sounding exasperated.
He then went on to say the flapjacks were, in fact, “very understated” and contained a “secret stash of taste”.
Chris joined Virgin Radio after stepping down from his position as host of the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show following eight years at the helm.
He spent 13 years at the BBC before leaving for his new job.
Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show with Sky airs weekdays at 6am on Virgin Radio.
