Zero women make it into BBC’s list of top 10 highest paid stars – despite the broadcaster vowing to tackle their gender pay gap
THERE are no women in the BBC’s top ten highest “talent” earners and Gary Lineker is now its best paid star, its annual report says.
Match of the Day host Gary, 57, earns £1.75million — around £1.3million more than the top-paid female Claudia Winkleman.
She is 13th on the list, earning between £370,000 and £379,000.
But this figure does not include her Strictly salary as the show is made by the Beeb’s commercial arm, BBC Studios.
Radio 2 host Vanessa Feltz is the only other woman in the top 20, on between £330,000 to £339,000. Gabby Logan is the top female earner in sport, on between £230,000 and £239,999.
Last year’s talent pay disclosure sparked fury after it showed many female stars were paid less than their male counterparts — leading to several threatening to quit.
The BBC insists it has reduced the gender pay divide — with the ratio of men to women earning more than £150,000 going from 76:24 last year to 66:34 this time.
But the Corporation has chosen to hide the pay of at least 30 individuals — including stars on EastEnders and Strictly — through the BBC Studios loophole.
Female presenters new to the licence fee-funded talent pay list include Emily Maitlis, who now earns up to £230,000, Jane Garvey on up to £160,000, and Sarah Montague on up to £170,000.
Emily, 47, was furious last year when she discovered that Newsnight co-host Evan Davis, 56, got up to £299,999 while she was on less than £150,000.
Tina Daheley, 37, who fronted the News at Ten for the first time this week, is also now earning up to £159,999, along with new Sunday Politics host Sarah Smith, 49.
Former Bake Off host Mary Berry, 83, is another new addition. She did not appear last year as she was paid via an independent production company, but is now listed as earning up to £199,999.
The increases come after a number of big name male stars agreed to significant wage cuts and BBC bosses moved to close the pay divide.
Andrew Neil, 69, and John Inverdale, 60, no longer had their wages made public — indicating their pay has dropped below the £150,000 threshold for publication.
But Beeb sources said a number of the salary reductions taken by male talent — including John Humphrys and Huw Edwards — are not reflected in this year’s figures.
The report covers April 2017 to March 2018, but their new deals came into effect only in December.
Mastermind host Humphrys, 74, who is listed as earning between £400,000 to £409,000, has seen his pay drop below £349,999. Huw, 56, has gone from £529,999 to £500,000.
And Radio 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell, 57, is shown as earning up to £419,999 when his pay has already been cut to £350,000.
Radio 2 host Chris Evans, 52, who was the BBC’s top earner last year, saw his pay slashed by £500,000 to £1,699,999 after he quit Top Gear. Four men saw their pay increased to pass the £150,000 mark — media editor Amol Rajan, 35, Africa editor Fergal Keane, 57, business editor Simon Jack, 47, and footie pundit Ian Wright, 54.
But BBC director-general Lord Hall moved to defend the pay of Match of the Day’s Lineker. He said: “Gary Lineker is doing the most amazing job.
“There are always going to be one or two people where the market for what they do is absolutely real and it is visceral.
“And when you are talking about a Lineker — and I don’t want to talk about individuals — but you are talking about someone who has the option of going elsewhere because there are people who are really bidding for people like that.”
Lord Hall also said he was “absolutely not satisfied” with so few women in the top 20 highest paid BBC stars and added: “I want to change that.” He admitted that hiding BBC Studios’ pay figures had done the Corporation “no favours”.
He added: “We made a lot of progress, but the annual report and accounts don’t show that.
“We are trying to get a balanced range of men and women and their pay right across the organisation.
“We are not hiding anything. Our public service side is going to degrees of transparency we have never gone to before.”
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The BBC Women group said it expects equal pay in all future negotiations.
It said: “This list shows how far the BBC still has to go in valuing women and men equally for their work. A year on from the formation of our group, many women at all levels of the organisation are still involved in protracted and gruelling processes to address their pay claims.
“We urge management to resolve these as swiftly as possible and in full accordance with the law.”
Earnings hidden in loophole
STARS on programmes made by BBC Studios, the Beeb’s commercial arm, kept earnings secret.
The shows are made in-house and not paid by the licence fee directly.
The loophole benefited the cast of EastEnders including Danny Dyer (Mick Carter).
Strictly’s judging panel — Shirley Ballas, 57, Craig Revel Horwood, 53, Bruno Tonioli, 62, and Darcey Bussell, 49 — did not have wages revealed. Show host Tess Daly, 49, was exempt, as was Claudia Winkleman’s pay for co-presenting.
But Claudia’s radio commitments mean she is the BBC’s highest-earning female of those paid for by the licence fee payer.
Around a third of stars on 2017’s pay list did not appear this time.
They included Casualty’s Derek Thompson, 70, the Beeb’s highest paid actor last year.
Other exempt shows included The One Show, Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow and Top Gear.