New Top Gear presenter Chris Evans is already one of the BBC's wealthiest and most popular stars after amassing a fortune estimated to be worth more than $100m.
He has one of the most envied collection of supercars in Europe, and has been among the United Kingdom's highest paid entertainers for the last two decades.
After starting his broadcasting career as a teenager in Manchester, the 49-year-old Evans later moved to London where he became a presenter on the BBC's Greater London Radio, and then the Channel 4 television chanel, where presenting the Big Breakfast show made him a star.
Evans became such a star he could negotiate deals that allowed him to present programmes on competing radio and television stations, with shows described as a mix of celebrity interviews, music and comic games, " delivered in an irreverent style that attracted high ratings, though often also generated significant numbers of complaints."
He started a new career on BBC Radio 2 in 2005, hosting the long-running Drivetime programme, before moving in 2010 to host the Chris Evans Breakfast Show every weekday morning.
Evans is a fan of fast cars, and Ferrari in particular. He was banned from driving for 56 days in 2001, and fined $1200, after being caught driving at 105 miles an hour in January 2001.
In 2005 he crashed his silver Ferrari 575 Maranello into a verge near his then Surrey home.
In May 2008 he bought a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB, formerly owned by United States actor James Coburn, for a then world record price of 6.4 million Euros.
In May 2010 he bought a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of only 36 built, for the equivalent of $25million. He reportedly sold three Ferraris from his collection to pay for it.
He gained his private pilots licence in 2008 and later bought a Robinson R44 helicopter.
It is not known when Evans will start filming a new
Evans is reportedly a friend of his Top Gear predecessor Jeremy Clarkson, and both appeared on a television programme in Britain last week.
Evans has been married three times, including once to teenage pop star Billy Piper. He has been married to professional golfer Natasha Shishmanian since August 2007.
It is not known when the BBC will name new co-presenters to appear with Evans on the revised Top Gear programmes.