Nolan’s pay: show’s callers speak out and a critic raises fresh questions
Following this week’s revelations that the Radio Ulster presenter is one of the highest-paid BBC stars, Stephanie Bell talks to some listeners who think he is worth every penny while Daithi McKay says he still has questions to answer
Stephen Nolan might be among the highest-paid BBC stars in the country, but as controversy continues to rage over his mega-wage some of his most regular listeners have come out fighting for him.
The 43-year-old TV and radio presenter has spent most of the week defending his hefty salary, which the BBC revealed was between £400,000 and £449,999 a year.
However, not everyone feels that Nolan, who works seven days a week presenting his show on Radio Ulster and BBC 5 Live in Manchester, was undeserving of being among the nation’s toppaid BBC stars.
Carmel Polland (66), from Castlewellan, Co Down, is a regular caller to the Stephen Nolan radio show.
A mother-of-two, who has two grandchildren, she used to live in Scotland, where she worked as a professional country and western singer.
Carmel was also one of the outspoken stars of Nolan’s fivepart BBC TV show Radio Face, which attracted controversy when it aired last year.
“If a man works hard for his money, then he deserves anything coming to him,” she says.
“I’ve listened to the debate all week about Nolan’s wages and, to me, it is just jealousy.
The man travels all over the place working and what he earns should be his business
“Years ago, when I was singing and making a bit of money, I experienced that type of jealously — people don’t like to see other people doing well.”
Carmel says she admired the presenter for how he has dealt with the controversy this week.
“I’ve always listened to the Nolan Show and I’ve heard all the calls this week about Stephen’s wage,” she adds.
“The man travels all over the place working and what he earns should be his business.
“Shame on the BBC for revealing what he is earning. He works hard and he is young and doing well and I don’t think he deserves the flak he has taken this week. “I admire him and I am glad he can stand up for himself. He is nobody’s fool and I think good on him.”
Heidi McAlpin (46, left), is managing editor of the Belfast and Northern Ireland In Your Pocket travel guides and also a regular participant on Nolan’s programmes.
Working in the media, Heidi
I admire him and I am glad that he can stand up for himself. He is nobody’s fool
says she wasn’t in the least surprised to learn that Nolan is being paid up to £449,999 a year by the BBC.
“I don’t blame anyone for accepting any wages — if that’s what the employer decides to pay them,” she says.
“I think the BBC were caught between a rock and a hard place and were getting a lot of flak about not revealing wages and it is good that they are being accessible.
“If anything, it shows the imbalance between male and female wages.”
Heidi adds: “I don’t begrudge Stephen Nolan his salary. He works seven days a week and negotiated his own salary in an environment where many people
earn a lot more, particularly in the commercial sector, for, arguably, less work.
“If there is a problem with inflated salaries, it’s not the fault of the talent, but the ‘suits’ that decide how to spend the BBC’s public purse — not least when it comes to the gender pay-gap.
“But, once you start paying big wages, it is difficult to put the genie back in the bottle.”
Another regular listener and contributor to the Nolan Show, known on radio as ‘George from the Shankill’, is Belfast man Gary Lengahan. He is also firmly in the presenter’s corner.
Gary (53) believes Nolan earns every penny and says the BBC should instead be questioning the millions they are paying to some other radio and TV presenters.
“Nolan does three jobs and works seven days a week and deserves what he earns,” he says.
“The difference between Nolan and some of the others who earn the big money is that Nolan created his show — it is his baby.
“I deliver medication and would visit between 50 and 80 houses a day and it’s unbelievable the number of people who listen to his show.
“All the wee pensioners love him.
“He established the show and it’s going well and he should be rewarded for that.
“I think the real travesty is what Chris Evans is earning, as I would say the majority of his listeners are Radio 2 listeners anyway and, regardless of who is presenting the show, they would be tuning in anyway.
“Also, Gary Lineker is getting over £1m. The BBC could save a fortune by putting a different retired Premier League player on Match of the Day every month. If they paid each of them £20,000, look at the amount of money they would save.
“Nolan is different, because his show is his own — he created it. I’ve listened to the debates
‘Obviously the BBC thinks he’s
worth what they pay him’
this week and he held his own.
“Obviously, the BBC thinks he is worth what they are paying him and I do too.
“I listen to him every day and there are some days I am screaming at the radio and other days I am thinking ‘Well said’.
“You can’t please everyone all of the time.”
East Belfast community worker Jim Wilson (64) said that, while he had clashed with Nolan on numerous occasions over the years on his radio show, he praised the presenter for what he described as his “largely positive contribution” to society in Northern Ireland.
“I do believe Stephen Nolan has done a lot of really positive stuff in Northern Ireland and he has achieved a hell of a lot in many areas, especially in health and education,” Jim (left) says.
“I think he does a good job. He does open up a lot of debate and I don’t always agree with how he deals with it, or with what he deems to be important.
“But, in general, is he worth that money?
“I think you get what you fight for and it is up to whoever pays his wages and how they value him.
“He has come up through the ranks in broadcasting over the years and he is good at what he does.”