Comic announces his retirement

He is one of the biggest live comedy acts in the UK – but Lee Evans says he’s quitting stand-up at the end of his current tour.

‘This is it,’ he said at a recording of The Jonathan Ross Show. ‘Finished. Not doing anything.’

He cited the sudden death of his manager Addison Cresswell last December as one of the reasons for retiring.

‘Yeah, sorry to get serious,’ he told Ross – who was also one of Cresswell’s clients. ‘I’m not an ambitious person. People asked me to do a film, so I did a film. You asked me to come on here, I came on here. I didn’t ask.

‘Addison used to put his arm around me and said, “It’ll all be alright, I’ll look after you.”’

Evans, 50, also said he wanted to ‘be there’ for his family more, and ‘go and do the stuff we never did’ with wife Heather and daughter Mo, 20.

Lee added: ‘So this is it. I’m going to go see my wife, give her a big hug, and tell her “I’m yours”.’

Speaking as if addressing Heather, he said: ‘I’m really sorry. I’m always away. I’m a nightmare to live with because I’m always working.’

Quitting will mean turning his back on a substantial paycheck; his 2011 Roadrunner tour grossed £12.9million and his DVDs regularly top the stand-up charts.

But in an interview last year when he first mooted the idea of retiring, he said: 'The one thing you can do if you’ve earned a few bob is buy your freedom.... I’d hate to be one of these comedians who still put on the suit but you can see the smile dropping – you can see they’re unhappy.’

Last week Evans also admitted to The Sun that he suffered from depression.

He said: ‘Not on the outside, but at home I do. I get very gloomy and dark, very deep and depressed. Everyone does sometimes, don’t they?

‘I can sit there for ages, with my head in my hands. It’s mostly out of being criticised, because then I don’t feel worthy and slope off on my own.

‘But then I’ll do a show and the audience reaction is humbling and I say to myself, “Come on, sort yourself out.”’

Ross's ITV chat show is due to air on Saturday.

Published: 20 Nov 2014