BBC presenters’ pay and salaries – who earns the most and how many women earn over £150k?
THE salaries given to the BBC's biggest stars and presenters were revealed last summer.
But how much does everyone earn, who are the best paid and why did the corporation decide to release the information at all? Here's the full story...
Who earns the most at the BBC?
BBC bosses revealed that Chris Evans is its highest-paid star earning £2.2million a year – four times more than its highest paid woman, Claudia Winkleman. Click here for the full list.
Here are the BBC’s top earners…
- Chris Evans: £2.2million – £2.49million
- Gary Lineker: £1.75million – £1.79million
- Graham Norton: £850,000 – £899,000
- Jeremy Vine: £750,000
- John Humphrys: £640,000
- Huw Edwards: £600,000
- Steve Wright: £550,000
- Claudia Winkleman: £450,000 – £499,000
- Matt Baker: £500,000
- Alan Shearer: £450,000
- Nicky Campbell: £450,000
- Alex Jones: £450,000
Why did the BBC release its presenters' salaries?
The broadcaster is revealed the names of all stars earning over £150,000 - a total of 96 people, of which only about a third are women.
Director general Lord (Tony) Hall said that the total pay to top talent was around £5 million down on last year's £31 million. And he said he was "satisfied" that all 96 named were worth what they were being paid.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker previously revealed that he had turned down higher pay offers from commercial broadcasters.
Writing on Twitter, the former England striker said he had stuck with the Beeb "because I love and value my job and BBC sport."
Lord Hall told Radio 4's Today programme that the BBC had reduced its spending on top talent by 25 per cent in the past four years and 10 per cent since last year, when 109 people took home a total of £31 million.
He said: "The total is down by £5 million on last year and that is consistent with what we have been doing over the last four years, which has been constantly reducing it."
He added: "I completely understand that to lots and lots of people these are very large sums, but we are a global broadcaster in a very competitive market and we have to be competitive - but not foolishly.
"No-one would want us to be paying sums where it's not at a discount on the market.
"People expect us to have great broadcasters, great presenters, great stars, but pay them less than they would get on the market. Getting that discount right is very important."
Hall admitted the BBC was only revealed the information because they had been forced to — moaning that the government had “insisted”.
In an internal video sent to all staff he complained about having to share the information.
He said: “We said giving names could be inflationary – setting benchmarks and raising expectations – driving up wages at a time we’re bringing costs down. In effect, it would set up a poachers’ charter.
“But in the end the Government insisted. So – tomorrow – we’ll publish the names of everyone – on-screen and on-air – who is paid for by the licence fee and has earned more than £150,000 in the last year.”
Conservative MP John Whittingdale brought in the requirement for the BBC to publish salaries when he was Culture Secretary.
He said: "This is not about saying people working at the BBC shouldn't be paying more than £150,000.
"But I felt - and the Government felt at the time - that this is public money and if somebody is earning the equivalent of 1,000 households' licence fees put together, then the licence fee payer deserves to know about that and reach a judgment for themselves of whether that is good value for money."
How many women appear on the list of those earning above £150k?
Red-faced BBC bosses were forced to admit that just a third of the corporation’s top-earning on-screen talent were women.
The Beeb revealed the information ahead of today’s BBC Annual Report, in which they have to publish the salaries of all on-air staff earning more than £150,000.
It means that just 32 out of 43,000 BBC employees were women earning over the set amount — despite an eye-watering £194 million a year of taxpayers’ dosh being spent on its talent bill.
Speaking ahead of the announcement, director general Lord Tony Hall vowed to close the gender pay gap by 2020.
Lord Hall acknowledged that there was a 10 per cent gender pay gap between women and men at the BBC, but said this compared with 18 per cent in UK society as a whole.
And he said: "I have said that by 2020 we will have equality between men and women on air and we will have the pay gap sorted out."
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Equalising pay will have to be managed within the constraints of the BBC's overall budget, he said, adding: "We will be working through case by case to make sure that in 2020... I will be able to look the licence fee payers in the eye and say we have equality of pay between men and women."
In a video message to BBC staff, Lord Hall said the disclosures "highlight... the need to go further and faster on issues of gender and diversity" but said that the corporation was "pushing ... faster than any other major broadcaster".