Evan Davis

Davis was born in Malvern, Worcestershire, to South African parents, Quintin Visser Davis, an engineer, and Hazel Noreen Davis, who would train to become a psychotherapist.{{cite journal|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-42655|title=Davis, Evan Harold (born 8 April 1962), Presenter, Newsnight, since 2014|journal=Who's Who & Who Was Who|year=2007|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U42655|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4}} He has two older brothers, Beric and Roland. The family had emigrated from South Africa to Malvern in January 1962 (Hazel was then pregnant with Davis) in reaction to apartheid. Two years later the family moved to Ashtead, Surrey, where Davis grew up.Himself, Built in Britain, BBC Documentary, 2012.

Davis attended Dorking County Grammar School, which in 1976 became The Ashcombe School, Dorking, where he was head boy.{{cite web |title=Evan Davis on the day he got married – and his father killed himself |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/evan-davis-father-interview-quintin-davis-cgpqgd5pb |website=The Times |access-date=14 August 2023 |date=23 July 2023 |last=Aitkenhead |first=Decca}} Davis then attended St John's College, Oxford between 1981 and 1984, gaining a First in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, before obtaining a Master of Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7421000/7421556.stm|work=BBC News|title=Evan Davis|date=6 June 2008}} While at Oxford University, he edited Cherwell, the student newspaper.{{Cite news |date=2 August 2014 |title=Asking for trouble: A profile of presenter Evan Davis |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/asking-for-trouble-a-profile-of-presenter-evan-davis/30477906.html |access-date=19 March 2024 |work=Belfast Telegraph|issn=0307-1235}}

Davis began work as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and while there he was briefly seconded to help officials work on early development of the Community Charge system of local government taxation (better known as the poll tax).{{cite book |author-link1=David Butler (academic) |first1=David |last1=Butler |author-link2=Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis |first2=Andrew |last2=Adonis |author-link3=Tony Travers |first3=Tony |last3=Travers |title=Failure in British Government: The Politics of the Poll Tax |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |page=81}} In 1988 he moved to the London Business School, writing articles for their publication Business Strategy Review. He returned to the Institute for Fiscal Studies in 1992, writing a paper on "Britain, Europe and the Square Mile" for the European Policy Forum which argued that British financial prosperity depended on being seen as a bridgehead to the European Union.{{cite news|first=Evan|last=Davis|title=Europe is key to Britain's world role|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=18 February 1993}}

In 1993, Davis joined the BBC as an economics correspondent. He worked as economics editor on BBC Two's Newsnight programme from 1997 to 2001. In the mid-1990s he was a member of the Social Market Foundation's Advisory Council;{{cite news|title=In the market for ideas, Tony?|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|date=25 July 1994}} he is a member of the British-American Project for the Successor Generation.{{cite news|author-link=John Pilger|first=John|last=Pilger|title=How the Anglo-American elite shares its 'values'|date=13 January 2007|url=http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=466|access-date=28 November 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111010608/http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=466|archive-date=11 January 2009}}

As the BBC's economics editor, Davis was responsible for reporting and analysing economic developments on a range of programmes on BBC radio and television, particularly the Ten O'Clock News. He also had a role in shaping the extensive BBC coverage of economics across all the corporation's outputs, including online.

Davis also wrote a blog for the BBC website entitled Evanomics in which he "attempts to understand the real world, using the tool kit of economics". Subjects he discussed included road pricing, care for the elderly, Gordon Brown's budget and how to choose wine.

Davis has won several awards including the Work Foundation's Broadcast Journalist of the Year award in 1998, 2001 and 2003, and the Harold Wincott Business Broadcaster of the Year award in 2002. In 2008, Davis was ranked first in the Independent on Sunday{{'}}s "pink list" of the hundred most influential gay and lesbian figures in British society.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-iiosi-pink-list-2008-852032.html |title=The IoS pink list 2008 |date=22 June 2008|newspaper=The Independent|location=London on Sunday |access-date=27 June 2009}}

On 23 May 2005, Davis crossed picket lines during a day of industrial action by BBC staff over announced job cuts. Other notable broadcasters who turned up for work during the strike included Terry Wogan, Shelagh Fogarty and Declan Curry.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/may/23/broadcasting.bbc2|title=TV stars: why we crossed BBC picket line |last1=O'Carroll |first1=Lisa |last2=Deans |first2=Jason |last3=Day |first3=Julia |date=23 May 2005 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 November 2008 | location=London}}{{cite news |title=BBC calls for talks amid strike |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4570237.stm |access-date=13 October 2013 |work=BBC News |date=23 May 2005}} Davis was also noted for breaking a strike at the BBC which had been called by the National Union of Journalists: on 6 November 2010, he arrived to present the Today Programme at 3:30 am, along with fellow presenter Sarah Montague, although this was not technically crossing a picket line as they arrived before it was formed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/8115210/BBCs-top-stars-in-bitter-split-over-strike.html|title = BBC's top stars in bitter split over strike| date=6 November 2010 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/bbc-strike-ends-but-more-are-on-the-way-v9rg2cdhzd0|title = BBC strike ends but more are on the way|last1 = Cooper|first1 = Robert}}

In mid-2007, Davis was a guest presenter on the Today programme for two weeks. In April 2008, he stood down as BBC Economics Editor to join the Today programme as a full-time presenter, replacing Carolyn Quinn.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7107004.stm |title=Dragons' Davis joins Today team |date=22 November 2007 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 November 2008}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/nov/21/bbc.radio |title=Evan Davis joins Today |last=Dowell |first=Ben |date=21 November 2007 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 November 2008 | location=London}} In 2009, Davis said that one of the best things about presenting on the radio is that "you can look things up on Wikipedia while on air".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/gallery/2009/apr/04/radio-presenters-djs?picture=345508001 |title=Top radio presenters and DJs: in pictures |date=4 April 2009 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=4 April 2009 | location=London}}

On top of his duties at Today, Davis also presents The Bottom Line. It is a weekly business discussion programme which generally includes three or four business leaders or entrepreneurs responding to several topical questions regarding business-related issues.{{Cite web |date=30 May 2012 |title=A smart way to boost the image of business |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/smart-way-boost-image-business-2072630.html |access-date=16 July 2021 |website=The Independent|location=London}} First aired in 2006, the programme is a co-production between BBC News and the Open University.{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 – The Bottom Line |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006sz6t |access-date=16 July 2021 |publisher=BBC}}{{Cite web |title=The Bottom Line 2021 |url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/tv-radio-events/radio/the-bottom-line |access-date=16 July 2021 |website=OpenLearn}}{{Cite news |date=4 March 2006 |title=RADIO CRITICS' CHOICE |work=Financial Times|location=London}} As of September 2013, The Bottom Line runs 26 weeks of the year in three series: at 8:30 pm on Thursdays on BBC Radio 4, with a repeat showing at 5:30 pm on Saturdays and a television recording at 9:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays on the BBC News Channel. The programme is broadcast internationally on the BBC World Service and BBC World News.{{Cite web |date=10 February 2009 |title=4's Bottom Line goes global |url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2009/02/4aes-bottom-line-goes-global/ |access-date=16 July 2021 |website=RadioToday}}

Additionally, Davis presents Dragons' Den on BBC Two.

In 2012, Davis presented Built in Britain, which looked at the role of major infrastructure projects in the UK, including examining the impact of the M25 on the town of Ashtead in Surrey where he grew up.

In 2014, Davis presented a BBC Two series Mind the Gap: London vs the Rest in which he explored the economic forces in Britain and why the capital city is so dominant.{{cite web |title=Mind The Gap: London Vs The Rest |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2014/09/mind-the-gap-london-vs-the-rest.html |publisher=BBC – Media Centre |access-date=23 March 2014}}

On 21 July 2014, it was announced that Davis would replace Jeremy Paxman as presenter of Newsnight starting in autumn 2014.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28401058 |title=Evan Davis to replace Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight |date=21 July 2014 |work=BBC News}} His last appearance as a presenter on Today was 26 September 2014.{{cite news |title=Evan Davis' final Today programme top tips |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hyvtf/clips |access-date=1 October 2014 |work=BBC News |date=26 September 2014}}

In 2017 Davis was found to have breached BBC rules on due impartiality in coverage of the 2017 French presidential election on Newsnight, giving the impression that he favoured Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen. The BBC Executive Complaints Unit ruled that Davis's approaches in back-to-back interviews with representatives of the Macron and Le Pen campaigns was so marked as to constitute bias.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/comp-reports/ecu/newsnight210417|title=BBC – Complaints – Newsnight, BBC2, 21 April 2017: Finding by the Executive Complaints Unit}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/nov/16/have-i-got-news-for-you-where-jo-brand-rebuked-all-male-panel-tops-complaints|title=Have I Got News for You where Jo Brand rebuked all-male panel tops complaints|first=Graham|last=Ruddick|date=16 November 2017|website=The Guardian|location=London}}

After four years with Newsnight, it was announced that Davis would move on to become the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 PM programme.{{Cite web | url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/evan-davis-to-leave-newsnight-and-replace-eddie-mair-as-presenter-of-bbc-radio-4s-pm/ |title = Evan Davis to leave Newsnight and replace Eddie Mair as presenter of BBC Radio 4's PM|date = 20 September 2018}} His final show was broadcast on 30 October 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/bbcnewsnight/status/1057314658611290112?lang=en|title=THREAD: It's Evan Davis's last night in the hot seat before he opts for the early nights and darker studios of Radio 4's PM. "Times right now are far from usual" – he said introducing his first Newsnight in September, 2014 What's changed eh? #newsnight {{!}} @EvanHDpic.twitter.com/WZKSzgjUp4|website=@bbcnewsnight|publisher=BBC|date=30 October 2018|access-date=26 October 2019}}

Davis began presenting Radio 4's PM on 5 November 2018.

Davis's first book, Public Spending, was published in 1998. In it he argued for the privatisation of public services as a means of increasing efficiency. Davis's second book, Made in Britain: How the Nation Earns Its Living, was published in May 2011. His third book, Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It was published in May 2017.

Davis lives in Kennington, London{{Cite web |title=Living in Kennington {{!}} Acorn Estate Agents |url=https://www.acorngroup.co.uk/area-guides/kennington |access-date=14 February 2025 |website=www.acorngroup.co.uk}} with his husband Guillaume Baltz, a French landscape architect.{{Cite news |last1=Sawyer |first1=Miranda |last2=@msmirandasawyer |date=7 May 2011 |title=Evan Davis: 'I'm a presenter who is gay rather than a gay presenter' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2011/may/08/evan-davis-today-business-nightmares |access-date=10 May 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/06/broadcasting.observerreview|title=Think of me as a man of mystery|last=Cadwalladr|first=Carole|date=6 November 2005|newspaper=The Observer|access-date=10 November 2008 | location=London}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/81f9bd99-fdf4-4130-8a0c-af9b45adc6c7 |title=Evan Davis: poster boy for the Noughties |newspaper=The Sunday Times |date=6 July 2008 |access-date=5 August 2009 |author-link=Rosie Millard |first=Rosie |last=Millard | location=London}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|first=Ben |last=Riley-Smith |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/evan-davis-quiet-man-of-the-airwaves-bites-back-7606798.html |title=Evan Davis: Quiet man of the airwaves bites back – Profiles – People |newspaper=The Independent |date=2 April 2012}} They married on 6 July 2022, at Lambeth Town Hall, the tenth anniversary of their civil partnership and the twentieth anniversary of their first meeting.{{Cite news |last= Lewis |first= Isobel |date= 23 July 2023 |title= BBC's Evan Davis recalls being told on his wedding day that his father had taken his own life |work= The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/evan-davis-dad-death-quintin-wedding-b2380402.html}} Davis's father, who was 92 and seriously ill with bowel cancer and heart problems, killed himself on the day of Davis's wedding in 2022, with Davis being informed later that day.

Davis is the owner of a whippet named Mr. Whippy{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/evan-davis-the-talent-all-comes-to-london-it-s-extraordinary-how-sucking-london-is-9160008.html |title=Evan Davis: 'The talent all comes to London. It's extraordinary how sucking London is' |work=The Standard|date=28 February 2014 |access-date=5 February 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-35500850|title=Evan Davis and his costly dog - live on air|via=www.bbc.co.uk}} and is a keen motorcyclist, seen riding a Yamaha YZF-R6 motorcycle in BBC Two's 2009 The City Uncovered with Evan Davis.{{cite news |title=The rocket scientists of finance |last=Davis |first=Evan |date=14 January 2009 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7826431.stm |quote=Evan Davis looks at how the desire of financial institutions to keep pushing profits higher have made them more vulnerable.}}

Davis holds honorary degrees from the Open University;{{cite web|title=Strategic Forum today at 10.30am|url=http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/fullstory.aspx?id=17455|website=The Open University|access-date=28 August 2015}} City, University of London; Cardiff University,{{cite web|title=Previous recipients|url=http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/about/honorary-fellows/previous-recipients|website=Cardiff University|access-date=28 August 2015}} Coventry University{{cite web|title=Dragon Evan Davis to get honorary degree from Coventry University|url=http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/dragon-evan-davis-honorary-degree-3939861|website=Birmingham Post|access-date=28 August 2015|date=15 September 2009}} and Aston University.{{cite web|title=Aston University celebrates graduates' success|url=http://www.aston.ac.uk/about/news/releases/2015/july-2015/graduation-ceremonies-to-celebrate-student-success/|website=Aston University|access-date=28 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821081446/http://www.aston.ac.uk/about/news/releases/2015/july-2015/graduation-ceremonies-to-celebrate-student-success/|archive-date=21 August 2015|url-status=dead}}

• {{cite book | last =Davis | first = Evan | display-authors=0| title = Public Spending | year = 1998 | publisher = Penguin Books | location = Harmondsworth | isbn = 0-14-026446-9}}
• {{cite book | last =Davis | first = Evan | display-authors=0| title = Made in Britain | year = 2011 | publisher = Little, Brown and Company | location =London | isbn = 978-140-8703-304}}
• {{cite book | last =Davis | first = Evan | display-authors=0| title = Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It | year = 2017 | publisher = Little, Brown and Company | location = London | isbn = 978-140-8703-311}}

{{Portal|BBC}}

• Working Lunch, on BBC2

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|id=1162141|name=Evan Davis}}
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_3900000/newsid_3907200/3907249.stm BBC Newswatch profile]
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/evandavis/ Evanomics] – Davis's BBC blog (no longer updated)
• {{cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 Today programme presenter Evan Davis's blog |access-date=30 January 2010 |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/today/evandavis/}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070301092729/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1635181,00.html Observer Review article] 6 November 2005
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006sz6t The Bottom Line Official Website]
• [http://open2.net/bottomline/evan_menu.html Video clips at the Open University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928214537/http://open2.net/bottomline/evan_menu.html |date=28 September 2011 }}

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Category:1962 births

Category:Alumni of St John's College, Oxford

Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists

Category:BBC Radio 4 presenters

Category:British business and financial journalists

Category:English economists

Category:English gay writers

Category:English LGBTQ broadcasters

Category:English LGBTQ journalists

Category:English LGBTQ scientists

Category:English people of South African descent

Category:English reporters and correspondents

Category:Gay journalists

Category:Gay scientists

Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at Dorking Grammar School

Category:People educated at The Ashcombe School

Category:People from Dorking

Category:People from Malvern, Worcestershire