The BBC has unveiled its league of top earners — with Gary Lineker again taking first place on about £1.3 million — as it faced increasing pressure over its flagship show Strictly Come Dancing.
Director General Tim Davie fielded questions from journalists about the hit show on Tuesday amid the controversy over its treatment of its celebrity contestants.
Its presenters, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, were absent from the corporation’s published accounts as both are paid through production companies which means the BBC is not compelled to publish their salaries. Also missing are key figures on the show such as judges Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke.
One person who is included is Daly’s husband Vernon Kay, who earns between £320,000 and £324,999 for his mid-morning show and Dance Sounds of the 90s on Radio 2. But his pay packet is dwarfed by his Radio 2 colleague Zoe Ball whose Breakfast Show earns her between £950,000 and £954,999.
The BBC has published its list of top earners, currently those earning above £178,000, since 2017 but does not publish exact salaries and instead publishes them in bands of £5,000.
Other big earners include the host of Radio 1’s Breakfast Show, Greg James, who takes home between £415,000 and £419,999, Radio 2’s Scott Mills and Sarah Cox who both earn between £315,000 and £319,999. Lauren Laverne is paid between £395,000 and £399,999 for her 6 Music Show and Desert Island Discs, while Northern Irish broadcaster Stephen Nolan is paid between £405,000 and £409,999 for his work on Radio Ulster, BBC One (NI) and Radio 5 Live.
The pay disclosures, which cover 2023-24, include Huw Edwards who earned between £475,000 and £479,999 before he left the BBC “on medical advice”.
The news anchor had been off air since July last year following newspaper reports claiming he paid a young person for sexually explicit images. No evidence of criminal conduct was found but he resigned in April after he was treated for depression. He was the BBC’s most high-profile news anchor, often chosen to front coverage of major national events.
The accounts also reveal the pay of Lineker’s colleagues on Match of the Day, including Alan Shearer who earns between £380,000 and £384,999 and Alex Scott who is paid between £220,000 and £224,999.
The report does not mention the current Strictly controversy but identifies “failure to protect the health, safety, security, safeguarding and wellbeing of our people, contributors and visitors” as among its main “operational risks”.
It states the BBC launched its own “incident reporting platform for reporting safeguarding concerns” last year but it is not clear if this prompted the recent deluge of complaints from former Strictly stars.
Among those speaking out are former contestant Will Bayley who said he suffered a serious injury while performing a jump in rehearsals and has claimed there was “no duty of care”. The Paralympic star raised his concerns after other contestants including Amanda Abbington and Zara McDermott spoke out.
Launching the report, Mr Davie said he wanted to build “a BBC for the future that can deliver crucial benefits for the UK at a critical time — and help support a healthy democracy, a thriving creative economy, and a strong society.”
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