BBC 6 Music Boosts Listeners As Chris Evans Transforms Radio 2

BBC 6 Music has boosted its audience by 50% to more than 1million listeners a week, new figures show.

The digital radio station’s record results come just months after it was outlined for closure as part of cost-cutting measures.

Official Rajar figures showed an average weekly reach of 1.02 million listeners in the first three months of this year - up from 695,000 in the final three months of 2009.

Meanwhile, Chris Evans has added more than one million listeners to the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show.

The DJ came under fire when he took over the position from Sir Terry Wogan in January.

But rather than see a decline, Evans show now broadcasts to 9.5millon listeners a week, which is the highest audience for any radio show since 1999.

In a message on Twitter, the former Radio 1 DJ described the news as “happy days”, and thanked those who “took a chance on me”.