BBC has recently revealed the list of 96 top earners in sports coverage, news, radio and TV. According to the list, English presenter Chris Evans is at the top with around £2.2m (2016/2017) in his annual kitty.
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Gary Lineker is the second highest earner with £1.75m, while another Late Night Show host Graham Norton bagged more than £850,000. Strictly Come Dancing co-presenter Claudia Winkleman is the highest-paid female celebrity on the list.
With BBC's announcement of its pay list, it has also been revealed that only one-third of the stars who earn more than £150,000 are female in comparison with male celebrities.
After the revelation of the list BBC is now being accused of a significant gender imbalance, with Claudia Winkleman earning just a fifth of what Evans picks up. As BBC reports, a total number of 25 males earn more than £250,000, compared to just nine women.
Reports state that the BBC could face a lawsuit for the gender discrimination from its female presenters. The longest-serving Labour female MP Harriet Harman stirred more controversy on Wednesday saying it is 'clearly discrimination'.
"It is very important that the lid has been lifted on this pay discrimination in the BBC. Although everybody will think it is very unfair and outrageous, this is a moment when it can be sorted out," she continued. "The BBC needs to set an example. This is public money and people don't want their money to be spent unfairly. Public money shouldn't be spent in a way which is discriminatory."
The UK Prime Minister Theresa May also threw shade at BBC in a recent interview with LBC Radio, "I think what has happened today is we have seen the way BBC is paying women less for doing the same job as men. I want to see women paid equally with men."
Happy BBC salary day. I blame my agent and the other TV channels that pay more. Now where did I put my tin helmet?
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 19, 2017
This is the first time that BBC, a major broadcaster in the UK, has revealed the pay report of their on screen and on air stars. The list was publicly unveiled after the UK government forced the broadcaster to disclose their stars' salaries.
BBC's 5 Highest paid stars | Salary (2016/17) |
Chris Evans | £2,200,000- £2,249,999 |
Gary Lineker | £1,750,000- £1,799,999 |
Graham Norton | £850,000- £899,999 |
Jeremy Vine | £700,000- £749,999 |
John Humphrys | £600,000- £649,999 |
Tony Hall, BBC Director-General was quoted saying, "Comparing people's pay is not straightforward. But we need to go further and faster on issues of gender and diversity."
"Two-thirds of the list are men. Is it where we want to be? No. We want all our leading presenting roles to be equal between men and women. We want 15% of top earners to be BAME by 2020."
Those who are wondering about the salaries of the stars like Matt LeBlanc (Top Gear), David Attenborough (Planet Earth), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), the BBC list has excluded them as they are paid through independent production houses.