Evans made demand to stay on air all day after lager at 6am

Chris Evans presented most of his radio shows with a hangover, the media tycoon and disc jockey admitted during his case for unfair dismissal yesterday.

Mr Evans, 36, was denying claims by his former bosses at Virgin Radio that he failed to present his breakfast show one morning in June 2001 because he was hung over – not because he was ill, as he had claimed.

He told the High Court: "I have done most of my shows hung over. It was my normal working zone. Because I like to go to the pub at night and I like to have a drink I usually have a thick head – not to the extent I had that morning, but I would say I have done more radio shows hung over than not hung over."

Mr Evans was giving evidence on the third day of his case against Scottish Media Group, the company to which he sold Virgin Radio in 1999 but which then dismissed him. He is claiming a breach of contract and is demanding 5 million shares worth £8.6m he says is owed to him. SMG is counter-suing, claiming he breached his contract in a "highly public manner" and that his drinking caused him to miss shows.

Geoffrey Vos QC, representing SMG, was questioning Mr Evans about a three-day "drinking binge" at the end of June 2001 that SMG claimed had damaged Virgin Radio.

Mr Evans said he was "very upset that morning" and felt there was a "conspiracy to get rid of me". "I was unable to broadcast," he said. "To do a show like I was doing you couldn't do it in a bad mood and I was as miserable as sin."

Mr Evans was questioned about an incident in which he demanded to stay on air all day – until an afternoon England football game started – after drinking lager while presenting his breakfast radio show.

He and his co-presenter, "Webbo", had been promoting lager and began drinking soon after the show started at 6am, Mr Vos claimed. He alleged "Webbo" was showing signs of being drunk when the pair announced they would stay on air until the World Cup qualifier against Greece. When the idea was rejected, Mr Evans allegedly refused to talk to executives at Virgin Radio for almost two weeks, ending his show with the words "sod them".

"I would not put it past me," Mr Evans remarked in court.

Mr Evans disputed he and "Webbo" had too much to drink when he demanded to stay on air on 6 June. "He was not drunk. He had about two and a half pints of lager. I had half a pint," he said. Mr Vos asked: "Did you really think that Webbo, after two and a half pints of lager, had the stamina to stay on air for nine to 10 hours?" "I didn't know," replied Mr Evans. "That was part of the adventure."

Asked why he thought he had the authority to announce to listeners he was broadcasting all day, the former Channel 4 star replied he had done such things in the past without asking permission. He told the court he was "extremely upset" his idea was turned down flat.

Mr Vos said the DJ told senior management, including Virgin Radio's chief executive, John Pearson, that he would never speak to them again.

Mr Evans refused to communicate with management from 7 June to 20 June, it was claimed. Mr Vos said: "You were behaving in a childish, cowardly and unprofessional fashion." Mr Evans replied: "Childish maybe, but not cowardly." The hearing continues.

* An executive on Boys and Girls, the new television show from Chris Evans' production company, resigned but has been talked out of leaving. Rob Clark, a series producer, handed in his notice, but Mr Evans persuaded him to stay.