Chris Evans' wife gives birth to baby boy

Presenter Chris Evans missed his Radio 2 Breakfast Show this morning after his wife gave birth to a baby boy.

Evans confirmed he had become the father of a second son, named Eli Alfred Michael Evans.

He was born after a 52-minute labour.

Evans had already made it to Hay for the show, but headed home again for the birth.

The One Show’s Alex Jones had to stand in as main host of the programme which was being broadcast from Hay-On-Wye.

Evans, 46, already has a son Noah, three, with golfer wife Natasha and a daughter Jade – now in her mid 20s – from an earlier relationship.

The couple met when they were partners in a celebrity golf tournament and married in 2007.

Jones is also having to rush back to present tonight’s One Show on BBC1, which is also usually hosted by Evans on a Friday evening.

The programme was on location from the town’s literary festival to announce the winners of the programme’s 500 Words story-writing competition for young listeners.

Competition judge David Walliams was also on the show.

Jones joked with the Bishop of Wales – who was a guest on the Pause For Thought slot during the show – about the number of Welsh people on the show, including herself.

“They planned this – they knew Tash was going into labour.”

In a message on Twitter the presenter said: “Can’t wait to join you all out there. A nice quiet first day in and then I’ll be right with you.”

Walliams was among those sending messages of congratulation.

“Congratulations to Chis Evans and his wife Tash for the birth of their new baby this morning. And I am pleased I didn’t ruin his show,” he wrote on Twitter.

Speaking on the show this morning, Evans said Natasha was “great” and added that it had been a “very emotional morning”.

Getting in the literary spirit, he told listeners after phoning in: “Once upon a time there was a silly radio DJ who went to Wales when his wife was four days overdue with their second child, hoping both mummy and baby might hang on until he returned.

“But of course he was completely wrong as usual and two hours after he arrived there on Thursday evening, he had to beat a hasty retreat to get back to London in time, which he did – just about – to witness the birth of 7lb 13oz Eli Alfred Michael Evans, born at 4.52am.”

Evans said the birth was so swift that his wife had been unable to have an epidural as she had requested.

“She said ’I think it’s happening’ so the nurses came in. It was just a two-push birth, a fast-track delivery – the baby popped out.

“She doesn’t mess about,” he added.

Evans said he still planned to join Jones on tonight’s One Show.