BBC reveals highest-paid stars - including former newsreader Huw Edwards despite being off-air
Gary Lineker is the broadcaster's top earner, taking home around £1.35m for his work on Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year. Zoe Ball, Alan Shearer and Greg James also make the top 10.
Tuesday 23 July 2024 16:38, UK
Huw Edwards is among the BBC's highest-paid stars of the last year, despite being suspended in July 2023 amid allegations of misconduct.
The newsreader, who officially resigned earlier this year, was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 in the 2023-24 financial year, making him the broadcaster's third-highest-paid presenter.
Salary details of on-air talent have been published in the BBC's annual report, which comes as the organisation faces another crisis surrounding its hit show Strictly Come Dancing.
Following questions about Edwards' pay in a news briefing, Tim Davie, the broadcaster's director-general, confirmed he received no settlement but said the BBC had done "the right thing" regarding pay.
"We're always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no one wants to waste a pound," Mr Davie said. The BBC had to act proportionately and fairly, he added, "and navigate [the issue] appropriately".
"I think that's what we did... we wouldn't have wasted money if we weren't doing the right thing."
Edwards suffered serious mental health issues and received in-patient hospital care after the allegations were made.
He was contracted to present for 160 days on BBC One and also cover news and election specials, the report shows.
The 62-year-old resigned in April this year, nine months after coming off air amid accusations he paid a teenager thousands of pounds for sexually explicit pictures.
Despite this, his 2023-24 salary marked an increase from 2022-23, when he was paid between £435,000 and 439,999.
Once again, football star Gary Lineker is the broadcaster's top earner, taking home around £1.35m - the same as the last two years - for his work on Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year, with Zoe Ball, who presents Radio 2's breakfast show, at number two, earning between £950,000 and £954,999. This was a slight reduction from between £980,000 and £984,999 last year.
The top 10 is made up of six male and four female stars - the same as last year - with football commentator Alan Shearer, news presenter Fiona Bruce, and radio stars Lauren Laverne, Greg James and Stephen Nolan also among the highest earners once again.
News presenters Naga Munchetty and Nick Robinson complete this year's top 10, while newsreader Sophie Raworth drops just below, earning £325,000 - £329,999. Radio star Ken Bruce, who was joint eighth on the list alongside Laverne last year, left his show early in 2023.
Other names just outside the top 10 include newsreader Mishal Husain, political journalist Laura Kuenssberg, and Radio 2 stars Sara Cox and Scott Mills.
There are some notable absences from the list, as the BBC does not have to make public the salaries of stars who are paid through its commercial arm BBC Studios or independent production companies. This means big names such as Strictly Come Dancing presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, as well as the likes of Michael McIntyre, Lord Sugar, Bradley Walsh and Alex Jones, and the top stars of shows such as EastEnders, are not included.
What BBC chair's reaction says about Strictly issue
There's plenty we should be talking about in the BBC's annual report.
There's the small matter of the existential threat facing the BBC, the half a million free-fall of people not paying the license fee and further job cuts planned at an organisation where there's little fat left on the bone.
Yet it's Huw Edwards' pay and Strictly that's all anyone's talking about. Perhaps understandably so.
News the former news reader remains the third highest paid talent at the corporation despite not working - to cap it all getting a £40,000 increase - is a bitter pill to swallow for those employed by the broadcaster, particularly with the announcement of further redundancies on the way.
As for Strictly, while all eyes were on Tim Davie and his response to the scandalous bullying allegations dominating the front pages, less reported, but more telling, was BBC chair Samir Shah's signal of support.
There to hold the actions of management to account, his support, for now, for the Director-General means he believes the BBC is doing the right things in its handling of the contestant claims.
Lineker first topped the list in 2017-18, taking a voluntary pay cut of £10,000 in 2020 amid the broadcaster's moves towards greater pay parity. He continues to be the only star paid more than £1m.
The annual report also includes salary details for bosses, with Mr Davie taking home between £525,000 and £529,999, the same as last year.
Read more from Paste BN:
Strictly star thought 'long and hard' about complaint
Strictly judge breaks silence on abuse allegations
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Tap hereThe BBC said 95% of UK adults use its services every month and its report showed a "year of creative excellence and transformation".
It said the number of TV licences declined 2% compared with last year but the "vast majority" of people still supported the £169.50 fee.
The annual report comes amid increased scrutiny of Strictly Come Dancing, its flagship show, over treatment of contestants.
No mention of the allegations are made in the 250-plus page document, but there are a few references to Strictly's successes and photographs of the show included.
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