Gary Lineker is set to return to our screens after briefly being taken off air by the BBC.
Lineker landed himself in hot water after publicly criticising the UK Government's new Illegal Migration Bill, a move some felt fell foul of the BBC's guidelines on impartiality.
The row caused Lineker to be removed from his duties as host of Match of the Day on Saturday night, which aired without him or fellow pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, who both refused to take part in the programme in a show of solidarity for their colleague. A number of other presenters, and even commentators, also refused to contribute to the show, which was reduced to stripped-back clips of the weekend's Premier League action without any analysis or commentary.
READ MORE: Gary Lineker's BBC salary, net worth and 'unusual' relationship with ex-wife
Lineker is now set to return and BBC Sport's programming is due to return to normal after the former England striker came to an agreement with the broadcaster.
The 62-year-old remains the BBC's highest paid on-air talent and is the only name to earn over £1million a year, according to official figures.
Lineker was paid between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in 2021/2022 for work including Match of the Day and Sports Personality of the Year, although that fee was actually down £10,000 on the £1.36m he earned the previous year, which came after he accepted a pay cut from £1.75m. He has topped the list every year since 2018.
For context, Zoe Ball is currently the broadcaster’s second highest-paid talent, earning a salary of £980,000 to £984,999, although figures again revealed her salary fell for a second consecutive year, going below £1m a year. Lineker's MOTD colleague Shearer has a salary of £450,000-£454,999, which puts him joint third with Steve Wright.
The latest figures are for the 2021/22 financial year, and were published in July 2022 in the corporation's latest annual report.
Not all earnings are published, though. Graham Norton's fee, for example, for his BBC One chat show is not included because it is produced by a commercial company, while stars of EastEnders, Top Gear and Strictly Come Dancing do not feature for similar reasons.
Top 10 highest-paid BBC employees in 2021/22
1. Gary Lineker, £1,350,000-1,354,999 (down from £1,360,000-£1,364,999)
2. Zoe Ball, £980,000-£984,999 (down from £1,130,000-£1,134,999)
3. Alan Shearer, £450,000-£454,999 (up from £390,000-£394,999)
= Steve Wright, £450,000-£454,999 (down from £465,000-£469,999)
5. Stephen Nolan, £415,000-£419,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999)
6. Fiona Bruce, £410,000-£414,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999)
= Huw Edwards, £410,000-£414,999 (down from £425,000-£429,999)
8. Vanessa Feltz, £400,000-£404,999 (up from £390,000-£394,999)
= Scott Mills, £400,000-£404,999 (up from £375,000-£379,999)
10. Greg James, £390,000-£394,999 (up from £310,000-£314,999)
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