Gary Lineker has topped the list of the BBC’s highest earners, after the corporation published its latest salary report.
The corporation has released the pay of those earning over £150,000, and despite steps to close the gender pay gap that last year’s report revealed, the majority of top earners were still men.
The ‘Match Of The Day’ host received between £1.75 million and £1.76m, roughly the same as the previous year.
Last year’s top earner, Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans, took home between £1.66m and £1.67m, which was a marked drop from the minimum £2.2m he took home the previous year.
Graham Norton, whose pay was between £600,000 and £609,999, was the third largest earner.
Men made up the top 12 of this year’s earners, compared to the top seven on the previous report. However, the figures show a 60:40 male to female split over the entire list, compared to the 75:25 split last year.
There are eight new female entries, including Mary Berry and Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis, but Claudia Winkleman is still the BBC’s top female earner.
The presenter takes home between £370,000 and £379,999, but her work on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ will not be included in this sum due to new criteria.
The report, which covers the financial year of 2017/18, only lists earners working in News and Current Affairs, Sport, Children’s and Radio shows that are made by the BBC in house.
While they featured on last year’s list, stars from dramas like ‘EastEnders’, ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Casualty’, as well as entertainment shows like ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and factual shows like ‘The One Show’ have not been included, as the shows are produced by the BBC’s production company, BBC Studios.
BBC Studios became a commercial entity after merging with BBC Worldwide in April last year. It is therefore not required to publish salaries, as it does not operate under the BBC’s public service charter.
BBC on-air salary list 2017-18
- 1. Gary Lineker - £1,750,000-£1,759,999
- 2. Chris Evans - £1,660,000-£1,669,999
- 3. Graham Norton - £600,000-£609,999
- 4. Steve Wright - £550,000-£559,999
- 5. Huw Edwards - £520,000-£529,999
- 6. Jeremy Vine - £440,000-£449,999
- =7. Nicky Campbell - £410,000-£419,999
- =7. Alan Shearer - £410,000-£419,999
- =9. John Humphrys - £400,000-£409,999
- =9. Nick Grimshaw - £400,000-£409,999
- =9. Stephen Nolan - £400,000-£409,999
- =9. Andrew Marr - £400,000-£409,999
New entries since 2016-17 list
- Emily Maitlis - £220,000-£229,999
- Amol Rajan - £200,000-£209,999
- Mary Berry - £190,000-£199,999
- Katya Adler - £170,000-£179,999
- Ian Wright - £170,000-£179,999
- Sarah Montague - £160,000-£169,999
- Rachel Burden - £150,000-£159,999
- Tina Daheley - £150,000-£159,999
- Jane Garvey - £150,000-£159,999
- Simon Jack - £150,000-£159,999
- Feargal Keane - £150,000-£159,999
- Sarah Smith - £150,000-£159,999
Stars from such shows who featured on last year’s list included The One Show’s Matt Baker (£450-499K) and Alex Jones (£400-£449K), and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ hosts Claudia Winkleman (£450-499K) and Tess Daly (£350-£399K).
The BBC’s top earning actors included Derek Thompson who plays Charlie in ‘Casualty’ (£350-£399K), ‘Holby City’ actress Amanda Mealing (£250-£299K), and ‘EastEnders’ star Adam Woodyatt (£200-£249K).
After last year’s pay reveal uncovered a huge gender pay gap in the corporation, Nicky Campbell, Huw Edwards, Jon Sopel, Jeremy Vine, Nick Robinson and John Humphrys all accepted reduced wages.
Many women working for the BBC also joined together to campaign for equal pay from bosses.
Former China editor, Carrie Gracie, recently received an apology and back pay, following the revelation she was paid significantly lower than North America editor Jon Sopel and Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen.
‘The One Show’ presenter Alex Jones also had her salary increased to put her in line with co-host Matt Baker, who was potentially earning as much as £100K a year more than her, although he was also paid more for his work on ‘Countryfile’.
The BBC has committed to closing the gender pay gap by the end of 2020 and recently published figures showing the median gap has fallen from 9.3% to 7.6%.