The departure of Jonathan Ross from the BBC was "inevitable" but he could return to screens "better than he ever was", broadcaster Chris Evans has said.
Ross, the BBC's highest-paid TV star, announced on Thursday he was quitting after 13 years at the Corporation. The decision came just over a year after the notorious Sachsgate scandal, for which the presenter served a three month suspension.
Evans, who will take over Terry Wogan's Radio 2 breakfast show on Monday, said Ross could not escape its "shadow".
He told BBC1's Andrew Marr show: "Jonathan parting ways with the BBC - I said last week I think it was inevitable in many ways. I thought the shadow and the cloud from what happened in October 2008 ... (he) just couldn't get away."
Evans, 43, said he hoped the star would return and suggested he should have continued with his Radio 2 show.
"I hope he comes back," he said.
"One thing I would say about Jonathan's situation is I just wish he had kept one foot in the camp so maybe kept his radio show. Maybe dropped the Friday night show because that's the one that's caused all the fuss, it's the one all about the big salary, but maybe stay on the radio, stay relevant, stay in the game."
According to Evans, Ross - whose reported £18 million three-year contract was due to expire in the summer - did himself "no favours" by talking "too much" about pay but said jobs would be available to him in the future.
"Jonathan can come back better than he's ever been because he is going to have to be," he said.
Asked if he would like to take over Ross's Friday night chat show, Evans said: "I would be lying if I said if I was offered it I would say no, but I don't think I will be offered it."
