FORMER DJ Chris Evans received more than £800,000 from his production company last year, despite the failure of shows such as Boys And Girls.

The multi-millionaire's financial package from UMTV included £360,000 in dividends and £447,750 which he charged for production services during the nine months to the end of last March.

Evans, who is married to former pop star Billie Piper, set up UMTV in July 2002 as a means of returning to programme-making.

But despite the success of his early career, when he scored high ratings with hit shows such as Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, Big Breakfast and TFI Friday, two of UMTV's shows were axed last year. Both Channel 4 entertainment show Boys and Girls and Channel 5 series Live With... were scrapped after they failed to pull in sufficient audiences.

The UMTV accounts revealed that the company made pre-tax profits of £777,281 on a turnover of £6m during the nine months to March 31.