Stars who kept their pay secret
Did they use loophole to stay off rich list?
THE BBC faced questions last night after some of its most high profile stars were missing from its ‘rich list’ of top talent due to a loophole. David Dimbleby, Mary Berry, Sir David Attenborough and Top Gear host Matt LeBlanc were all absent from the roll of those on more than £150,000 a year.
The Corporation’s agreement with the Government, which states it must publish top salaries annually, only requires talent directly funded by the licence fee to be revealed. It means a string of top stars who are paid directly by production companies or via its commercial arm BBC Worldwide did not have to feature on the list.
However, this loophole did not explain the absence of all of the BBC’s famous faces.
Some broadcasters did not have their salaries revealed purely because their earnings are below the £150,000 cut-off.
The production loophole explained Question Time host Dimbleby’s omission, as the panel show is produced by independent firm Mentorn Media.
For his role in the BBC’s election coverage, Dimbleby – who has worked for the BBC for 50 years – is likely to be paid directly by his production company, from which he takes a salary. It means that while he may be one of the highest-paid employees, he need not declare it. But while Dimbleby’s earnings were not on the list due to this mechanism, his brother Jonathan – who has hosted Radio 4’s Any Questions? for three decades – did not appear for another reason. The radio broadcaster’s pay is not above the £150,000 threshold.
With Chris Evans topping the list of the high earners with his £2.25million salary, his Top Gear co-host LeBlanc would also be expected to feature prominently.
But LeBlanc is paid through BBC Worldwide, meaning his pay package was also omitted. BBC stalwart Sir David, 91, is also paid this way.
One of the BBC’s most successful shows, The Great British Bake-Off, also escaped a public wage declaration.
The series is created by Love Productions. As such, judges Miss Berry and Paul Hollywood were both missing from the list. Mel Giedroyc was the only member of the show to appear due to other programmes she has done with the BBC, including Eurovision: You Decide.
While Graham Norton did make the list with his salary of up to £899,999, this sum does not include the income from his The Graham Norton Show, which is produced by So Television – meaning he will have earned significantly more.
Other famous faces did not find their salaries on the list because they are not paid above the £150,000 threshold.
Among the surprising omissions were Woman’s Hour hosts Dame Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey, Today presenter Sarah Montague, Watchdog presenter Steph McGovern, BBC Breakfast host Sally Nugent and Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox.
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