Spectacles of Evans will finally go from TV Â

First he was sacked from his radio show. Then he decided to sue. Now even his trademark spectacles are being removed from the television screen.

A further chapter in the fall of Chris Evans is being written with the news that his former employer, the Scottish Media Group, is to stop using the logo of his glasses, which SMG airs after programmes made by its subsidiary, Ginger Productions. The same logo has been used for eight years.

Ginger Productions, which SMG bought from Evans, its founder, in January last year for £225m, is revealed in Broadcast magazine today to be talking to design consultants about a new image for the company and its credits. The new logo is expected to have no trace of Chris Evans, aged 35, his glasses or ginger hair.

The makeover is a very public fall from grace for Evans, who founded and moulded Ginger in his own image. The celebrity, once one of the best-known faces on British television, had a string of hits with the company, such as the TV shows Don't Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday. But he has kept a low profile since he was dismissed from his radio breakfast show job in June after calling in sick while being photographed drinking in favourite pubs with his new bride, the teenage singer Billie Piper.

Yesterday, people in Godalming, Surrey, where Evans has a mansion, said he was often seen in pubs with friends or his wife. Conrad Allen, who works in the High Street, said: "I saw him in the local Wetherspoon last weekend. The pub was packed and he wasn't in there long, he had a pint and went off with a group of friends.

"Billie was there too and they both seemed fine, they all left together. My boss saw her out and about today, but I never usually see them together. I used to see him every week out in the pubs,'' he said.

Lee Sharp, of the Jack Phillips pub, said the couple were there last Saturday. "Of course he was drunk. She had a Coke, though. He was only in here for a couple of minutes but he was wrecked, as usual.''

The DJ, who quit Ginger Productions in June after his sacking from Virgin and is said to be worth £77m, is suing SMG for share options worth £8.6m. Indicating that the acrimony now runs deep, a spokeswoman for Virgin, which is owned by SMG, made clear that the station would vigorously defend the action and launch counter-claims of its own.

Virgin believes it has clear evidence that the millionaire DJ was in breach of his contract and therefore forfeited the right to about 5 million shares which were. due from the settlement negotiated by Evans when he sold Ginger to SMG.

His departure from Virgin came after months of tensions between the volatile star and management and a number of failures to turn up for work. Audience figures of 2.3 million when he joined in 1998 were falling. A further humiliation for Evans, who appeared stunned to have lost his job, was when his successor Steve Penk immediately proved more popular.

Evans and his wife are having their mansion near Godalming renovated and are staying in one of the estate's outhouses while the work is done. Evans has been helping local charities by selling Christmas trees but seems better known as a jack-the-lad who enjoys a drink. One regular at the Red Lion pub in Mill Street said: "We always see him out and about in town. Everyone knows where his favourite bars and watering holes are, but he tends to chat to his friends and not us.''