BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has already earned tens of thousands of pounds extra on top of his BBC salary so far this year. The News at Ten host earned at least £25,000 on top of his annual wage by working four external events, it has been reported.
The presenter was paid £429,999 by the BBC last year, and is one of five BBC employees to have earned over £10,000 from work outside the corporation. Read more: First day of Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy 'Wagatha Christie' libel trial as case begins
In March of this year (2022), Edwards received more than £10,000 to host an event for the magazine, Business Matters, reports The Press Gazette. He also undertook three other appearances in March, for each of which he was paid between £5,000 and £10,000. The Welsh journalist could have earned up to £45,000 form working these events according to calculations by the website.
As the BBC only provides ranges within which how much each presenter was paid, Press Gazette has extrapolated from the limited given information how much each broadcaster might have made. For engagements that paid under £1,000 they used a figure of £500, for those paying £1,000 to £5,000 they used £3,000, while for those from £5,000 to £10,000 the calculation was based on a £7,500 payment. For the events that paid upwards of £10,000, Press Gazette used a fee of £15,000.
The lack of specific data means, however, that the overall totals and those for individual presenters are ballpark estimates. Since January 2021 the BBC’s on-air presenters in current affairs, sports news and radio and senior leaders have had to declare earnings from paid external work.
The second highest earner for the first quarter of 2022 was BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker. The presenter, who is starting a new role with Channel 5 later this year, earned an extra £20,000 on top of his £299,999 salary. Walker spoke at four events, three in February and one in March, for which he earned £5000 per event, on of which was hosting the quarterly reveal of the Best Companies to Work For at Manchester's Media City.
BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty, who presents alongside Walker, earned at least £15,000 from four engagements in the first three months of the year on top of her £259,999 salary.
Overall, the 63 journalists on this quarter's list (including a majority on non-star salaries) took on 99 outside gigs which may have amounted to a combined £269,000. In 2021, 23 high-paid journalists undertook more than 90 appearances in total.
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