The BBC has published its annual report including details of the highest paid stars, as bosses deal with the fallout from allegations made against a presenter.
Gary Lineker is once again the broadcaster’s biggest earner, taking home between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in 2022-23 – the same amount as the previous year – for his work on Match Of The Day, Sports Personality Of The Year, the World Cup and FA Cup.
Zoe Ball, who presents Radio 2’s breakfast show, is second on the BBC list, earning between £980,000 and £984,999 for her work on the programme, plus a Terry Wogan tribute. Like Lineker, her salary has not changed in the last 12 months.
The top 10 is made up of six male and four female stars – a change from seven men and three women last year – with football commentator Alan Shearer, news presenters Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce, and radio stars Lauren Laverne and Greg James also among the highest earners.
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However, the list does not paint a full picture as the organisation does not have to make public the salaries of stars who are paid through its commercial arm BBC Studios or independent production companies.
In the top 10, Edwards and Laverne, along with former Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce and newsreader Sophie Raworth, saw increases in their pay from the previous year – although salaries for many have remained the same or dipped slightly amid ongoing scrutiny of the BBC over the amounts earned by its top talent.
Edwards is the corporation’s highest paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000 – £439,999 – up from £410,000 – £414,000 last year.
This puts him fourth on the list behind Shearer, who saw a drop in his earnings from £450,000 – £454,999 in 2021-22, to £445,000 – £449,999 this year.
Ken Bruce, who left earlier this year after 31 years at the helm of the Radio 2 mid-morning weekday slot, was up £5,000, to £390,000 – £394,999.
Lauren Laverne hosts Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 and shows on Radio 6 Music. Pic: BBC/Ray Burmiston
Along with Laverne and Raworth he is new to the top 10, as Steve Wright, Vanessa Feltz and Scott Mills have dropped down after leaving their respective BBC shows.
Feltz, who announced in July last year that she was leaving her shows on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio London, was previously in the salary bracket of £400,000 – £404,999. Mills left his BBC Radio 1 show after 24 years in August, but continues to present in the afternoon slot on BBC Radio 2.
Lineker first topped the list in 2017-18, taking a voluntary pay cut of £10,000 in 2020 after pressure from female staff for greater pay parity.
Other stars among the high earners this year include George Alagiah, Naga Munchetty, Amol Rajan, Nicky Campbell and Laura Kuenssberg.
The annual report also includes salary details for bosses, with director-general Tim Davie taking home between £525,000 and £529,999 in 2022-23.
“I am proud of the content we have delivered – the very best of the BBC – from royal programming to wonderful sporting moments and coverage of the Ukraine war,” Mr Davie said as the figures were released. “We have seen this again recently, with Eurovision, the Coronation and Glastonbury.
“It remains a period of change, financial pressures and great competition in the media market. Our task is not always easy and we have to make some difficult choices.
“But these are challenges we must embrace as we know that the BBC is needed now more than ever, in an age of polarisation and increasing disinformation.”
