‘Countdown had a gender pay gap... I got three times more than host Richard!’
FORMER Countdown host Carol Vorderman has revealed that she was paid three times more than her co-host Richard Whiteley.
The presenter made the revelation on Today FM yesterday, saying the huge pay gap caused a row between her and Richard, who died in 2005.
Commenting on the gender pay gap, which typically favours male presenters, Carol said: ‘I’m going to give you an exclusive now... the only heated debate Richard and I ever had was when he found out that I was being paid three times more than him.’
She added: ‘The whole gender pay gap thing is not necessarily men versus women, there’s a lot of women against women. Trolling on Twitter – it’s not men having a go at women; it’s often women having a go at women, which I kind of think, “Where’s the sisterhood gone?” I’m glad it’s being discussed though and it is out in the open now.’
Carol, 57, is reported to have been paid £17,000 (€19,300) a day for 40 days of filming a year for the Channel 4 show, working out at £800,000 (€909,000) per year.
The pair hosted the show together for 23 years, from 1982 to 2005, and Carol for a further three following her co-host’s death. She left the show in 2008 after being told she would have to take a 90% cut in her salary if
she wanted to carry on as host.
‘I think, sometimes, to hang on to what was is not a good thing,’ she told the Dermot and Dave show. ‘I’m a great believer in new chapters. It was a good chapter, it was like a marriage. It was a massive part of my life.’
Announcing her departure from the show at the time, she said: ‘I was absolutely distraught at their ultimatum. After putting my heart and soul into the show for 26 years, I was given 48 hours to decide. Take it or leave it.
‘I loved Countdown so much I was thinking of taking the cut. In fact, in the right circumstances, I’d have done it for free – but it is obvious they wanted me out.’
Last month, actor Benedict Cumberbatch said he will reject roles if female co-stars are paid less than him, part of a major debate about gender pay gaps in the entertainment industry.
Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, revealed she had ‘always’ had gender parity with her male co-stars. She is one of the highest earners on the show, in the ‘A’ bracket along with Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage.
‘It was a massive part of my life’