Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Doddy’s vow from hospital: I shall return
Male journalists’ salaries pegged back after gender gap controversy
COMIC Ken Dodd, in hospital with a severe chest infection for the last fortnight, has promised his fans: “I shall return.”
Yesterday the 90-yearold had a visit from the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and told him he wanted to put on a big show for his charities in the spring.
And the veteran star, being treated in the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital, stressed: “I will be there!”
Sir Ken, victim this week of a fake internet report he had died, admitted: “I have been to a very dark place.” He added: “I am making definite progress but it will be a while yet.”
He praised the “wonderfully kind and caring” NHS staff and pointed out: “There are lots of other people apart from me being cared for this way.” cuts and others have been asked to take a reduction in pay.
“Tony Hall and the other executives understand the market has changed and some contracts need to be reduced in order to balance the books.
“The level of cuts people have taken depends on their current situation, but it is tens of thousands of pounds for some – and even more than that for a few of the highest earners.”
Last summer, when BBC pay figures were disclosed, Humphrys was being paid between £600,000 and £649,000 for presenting Radio 4’s Today and BBC2’S Mastermind.
He is understood to have taken pay cuts already in the past 12 months but with the additional reduction, he will now earn £250,000 for his news work and his total salary will be around £400,000 to £450,000.
Huw Edwards also faces a big cut from his salary, which was £550,000 to £599,000 last year, and he will now earn less than £500,000 following discussion with bosses.
Today host Nick Robinson (£250,000299,000) and North America editor Jon Sopel (£200,000249,999), who was caught in an embarrassing off-air conversation with Humphrys about the gender pay gap, are also understood to be facing cuts. The pair will face salary reductions on a far smaller scale, as their earnings have not ballooned in recent years.
It will be Humphrys’ third voluntary
ON SALARY REDUCTIONS
pay cut and will bring his salary down to be on a par with his female Today co-presenter Mishal Husain.
Humphrys said: “It’s true I’ve been talking to the bosses about taking another cut. We haven’t mentioned any figures. I volunteered. That seems to be entirely fair and reasonable.”
The cuts, across a number of senior staff in news and current affairs, could also lead to some pay rises for prominent female staff in the department. It will help redress the balance ahead of a report on BBC pay due out next week.
Tony Hall is due before MPS on the Select Committee next Wednesday and is expected to officially reveal details of cuts made in the newsroom and how he is tackling the gender pay gap.
Tory MP Tracey Crouch has refused to be interviewed on the Today programme after Humphrys made light of a colleague’s fight for equal pay.