Evan Davis has built a remarkable career by combining economics with journalism, radio, and television. From his early work as an economist to becoming one of the BBC’s familiar presenters, his professional journey has covered business, politics, economics, and current affairs. He is widely recognized for Dragons’ Den, The Bottom Line, Today, Newsnight, and PM. His official biography confirms that he became the presenter of PM in November 2018 after presenting Newsnight, while his earlier BBC career included serving as Economics Editor.
What makes Davis particularly distinctive is his ability to explain complicated subjects in straightforward language. His academic training and earlier economics career gave him a strong foundation for reporting on business and public policy. Over more than three decades at the BBC, he has developed from a specialist economics reporter into a versatile broadcaster known across radio and television.
Quick Facts About Evan Davis
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Evan Harold Davis |
| Profession | Broadcaster, journalist, former economist |
| Nationality | British |
| Best Known For | Dragons’ Den, PM, Newsnight, Today, The Bottom Line |
| BBC Economics Editor | 2001–2008 |
| Today Presenter | 2008–2014 |
| Newsnight Presenter | From 2014 to 2018 |
| PM Presenter | From November 2018 |
| Education | St John’s College, Oxford; Harvard Kennedy School |
| BBC Career Began | 1993 |
| Major Interests | Economics, business, current affairs, film |
| Books | Public Spending, Made in Britain, Post-Truth |
Early Life and Background
Evan Davis studied at St John’s College, Oxford, from 1981 to 1984. He later attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he studied from 1986 to 1988. His education gave him a strong grounding in economics, government, and public policy.
Before entering broadcasting, Davis worked as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the London Business School. He joined the BBC in 1993, bringing specialist knowledge that would later become a defining part of his journalism.
This early experience was important because economic stories often involve technical information that can be difficult for a general audience to understand. Davis developed a reputation for putting those subjects into a more accessible context.
Age and Physical Features
Evan Davis was born in 1962, making him in his 60s as of 2026. He has spent much of his adult life in journalism, with a BBC career stretching back to 1993.
As a television presenter, Davis is recognizable for his distinctive smile, glasses, and usually understated professional appearance. His presentation style tends to place more emphasis on the subject being discussed than on dramatic on-screen theatrics.
Career and Major Achievements
One of the most important milestones in Davis’s career came when he became the BBC’s Economics Editor in 2001. The role made him the corporation’s senior economics reporter, giving him responsibility for covering major developments affecting the British economy and wider financial landscape. He held the position until 2008.
His specialist knowledge also led to appearances across BBC programmes. Rather than remaining limited to economics reporting, he gradually expanded into broader current affairs and interviewing.
In 2008, Davis became a presenter on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. His arrival was noted in a BBC report as bringing both a distinctive tone and strong economic expertise to the programme during a period of major economic turbulence.
He remained with Today until 2014 before moving to television.
Dragons’ Den
For many viewers, one of the most recognizable parts of Davis’s career is Dragons’ Den.
He has presented the BBC Two business reality programme since its early years and is one of the people closely associated with the show. A BBC profile noted that he was proud to be one of only three people who had been part of the programme from its beginning.
The programme asks entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses to a panel of investors. Davis helps guide viewers through the pitches, negotiations, valuations, and reactions from the investors.
His economics background fits naturally with the programme’s subject matter. He can provide a clear bridge between the commercial details of a pitch and the wider story of what the entrepreneur is trying to achieve.
The Bottom Line
Another important programme in Davis’s career is The Bottom Line, a Radio 4 business discussion programme and podcast.
The show focuses on practical business issues and conversations with company leaders, entrepreneurs, and other figures from the commercial world. Davis’s role involves asking questions that help reveal how businesses operate and how executives approach important challenges.
His official biography describes The Bottom Line as a weekly business discussion programme, while a BBC profile highlighted how comfortable Davis felt discussing the business topics covered on the programme.
The programme has become an important part of his long-standing relationship with business journalism.
Newsnight
In 2014, Davis became the main presenter of Newsnight on BBC Two. He took over the role after Jeremy Paxman’s departure, stepping into one of the BBC’s most prominent current affairs positions.
The move represented a significant change from his earlier specialist economics work. Newsnight covers a much wider range of subjects, requiring its presenters to move rapidly between politics, international affairs, economics, culture, and breaking news.
In a BBC interview published during his Newsnight period, Davis discussed the challenge of moving between very different subjects and described journalism as helping the public make sense of complex issues.
He presented the programme until 2018.
PM on BBC Radio 4
In November 2018, Davis became presenter of PM, the BBC Radio 4 news and current affairs programme. His official biography identifies the programme as one of his principal roles.
PM covers major stories from Britain and around the world, combining reports, interviews, analysis, and discussion.
Moving to PM brought Davis back to radio after his television role on Newsnight. It also demonstrated the range of his broadcasting career, as he had now worked as a specialist economics reporter, radio presenter, television news presenter, and business-show host.
BBC Documentaries
Davis has also presented several BBC documentaries.
One notable example is Mind the Gap, a two-part BBC Two series from 2014 that examined economic differences between London and other parts of the United Kingdom. The programme explored the uneven distribution of wealth and economic opportunity across the country.
In 2011, he presented Made in Britain, a three-part BBC Two series examining how Britain earns its living. The programme was accompanied by a book, showing how Davis’s television work and writing often overlap.
He was also involved in the BBC One Panorama special Breaking into Britain, which examined the journeys of migrants attempting to reach Europe and the United Kingdom.
Awards and Recognition
Davis has received recognition for his contribution to broadcasting.
In 2017, he won the Television and Radio Industries Club News Presenter of the Year award. Earlier, in 2015, he was named Attitude magazine’s Man of the Year.
These honours reflect the range of his work across radio and television. His career has combined specialist reporting with major presenting roles rather than focusing on just one area of journalism.
Books and Writing Career
Davis has also developed a significant career as an author and writer.
His earlier books include Public Spending, published by Penguin in 1998. He also co-authored the Penguin Dictionary of Economics and The New Penguin Dictionary of Business.
His later books include Made in Britain: How the Nation Earns its Living, published in 2011, and Post-Truth: Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It, published in 2017.
In Post-Truth, Davis examined deception, exaggeration, political spin, and misleading communication. The book drew on economics, behavioural science, psychology, and his experience in the media.
Relationship and Family Life
Davis is known for keeping his private life relatively separate from his public broadcasting career. His professional work has generally received far more attention than his personal affairs.
He married Guillaume Baltz, a French landscape architect, in 2022. Their relationship is one of the few aspects of his private life that has become part of the public record.
Davis has also spoken positively about life away from broadcasting. A BBC profile highlighted his affection for film and his enthusiasm for his whippet, Mr Whippy.
Social Media Presence
Davis has maintained a public presence on social media, particularly through X, formerly known as Twitter. His official website lists the account @EvanHD as a way to follow or contact him.
His social media presence reflects his professional interests, with journalism, current affairs, broadcasting, and public discussion forming much of the surrounding conversation.
For audiences who follow his BBC work, social media provides another way to see his reactions to major news stories and broadcasting topics.
Who Is Evan Davis?
Evan Davis is a British broadcaster and journalist whose career began in economics. He joined the BBC in 1993 after working as an economist and eventually became the corporation’s Economics Editor.
He later moved into broader broadcasting, becoming a presenter on Today, the lead presenter of Newsnight, and then a presenter of PM. At the same time, he became closely associated with Dragons’ Den and The Bottom Line.
His career stands out because he has moved successfully between specialist economics reporting and mainstream current affairs.
Personality and Interests
Davis’s broadcasting style is generally measured, analytical, and conversational. In a BBC interview, he explained that he preferred not to make television presenting primarily about himself and instead wanted the personality of the presenter to support the programme.
Outside journalism, film is one of his stated interests. His official BBC profile also noted his appreciation for filmmakers including Eric Rohmer, Agnieszka Holland, and Werner Herzog.
His interests also extend into the cultural and civic world. Davis has served on the board of the Museum of London, adding another dimension to his activities outside day-to-day broadcasting.
Does Evan Davis Have Children?
Publicly available biographical information focuses mainly on Davis’s professional career and his relationship with Guillaume Baltz. There is no reliable basis in the sources used for this article to state that he has children.
For that reason, claims about children or other private family details should be treated carefully unless they come from a reliable, attributable source.
Net Worth and Income
There is no reliable official public figure for Evan Davis’s net worth, and estimates published online can vary considerably.
His income has come from a long career in broadcasting, journalism, writing, television presenting, and related professional work. His roles on major BBC programmes, combined with his books and media activities, have provided several professional income streams.
However, without verified financial records, a specific net-worth figure would be speculative. It is more accurate to discuss the documented scope of his career than to present an unsupported estimate as fact.
Public Image and Legacy
Davis has become a familiar figure in British broadcasting because of the unusually broad range of programmes he has presented.
His career combines economics, business journalism, radio news, television current affairs, documentaries, and writing. That progression has allowed him to move comfortably between specialist and general-audience broadcasting.
His lasting contribution is closely connected to his ability to make complicated subjects understandable. Whether discussing economic policy, entrepreneurs seeking investment, or major political stories, his work has frequently centered on explaining the issues behind the headlines.
The BBC’s own profile of Davis described his strength as getting to the essence of complex issues and giving them shape for the audience.
Conclusion
Evan Davis has had one of the more diverse careers in British broadcasting. Beginning as an economist, he joined the BBC in 1993 and eventually became Economics Editor before moving into major presenting roles.
His work on Today, Newsnight, and PM established him as a leading current affairs broadcaster, while Dragons’ Den and The Bottom Line strengthened his association with business and entrepreneurship. His documentaries and books have added another layer to a career built around explaining economics, business, politics, and society.
For viewers and listeners, his appeal lies in the combination of specialist knowledge and straightforward communication. That balance has helped Davis remain a recognizable BBC presence across radio and television.
8 FAQs About Evan Davis
1. Who is Evan Davis?
Evan Davis is a British broadcaster, journalist, author, and former economist. He is known for BBC programmes including PM, Dragons’ Den, Newsnight, Today, and The Bottom Line.
2. What is Evan Davis best known for?
He is particularly well known for presenting Dragons’ Den and for his long-running BBC journalism career. He has also held major presenting roles on Today, Newsnight, and PM.
3. What did Evan Davis do before joining the BBC?
Before joining the BBC in 1993, Davis worked as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the London Business School.
4. When did Evan Davis become BBC Economics Editor?
He became the BBC’s Economics Editor in 2001 and held the position until 2008.
5. When did Evan Davis start presenting Newsnight?
Davis became the main presenter of Newsnight in 2014 and remained in the role until 2018.
6. What is The Bottom Line?
The Bottom Line is a BBC Radio 4 business discussion programme and podcast hosted by Davis. It focuses on business, leadership, entrepreneurship, and commercial issues.
7. Has Evan Davis written any books?
Yes. His books include Public Spending, Made in Britain: How the Nation Earns its Living, and Post-Truth: Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It. He has also co-authored major business and economics reference books.
8. Who is Evan Davis married to?
Evan Davis married Guillaume Baltz, a French landscape architect, in 2022.
