Ballas is overpaid, says fellow Strictly judge
WITH Claudia Winkleman, the BBC’S highest-paid woman, as its presenter, Strictly Come Dancing appeared to have sidestepped the corporation’s recent gender pay rows.
But war has broken out on the judging panel after Craig Revel Horwood complained that Shirley Ballas, the head judge, is overpaid and has done “absolutely nothing to earn it”.
Revel Horwood has been with the programme since its launch in 2004 and said that he deserved to be paid more than Ballas, who joined last year as a replacement for Len Goodman.
“The point about this pay thing is, yes, I think women should be paid the same as men. That’s for sure. But what would you say to a woman coming in after you’ve been in the job for 15 years, when they’ve done absolutely nothing to earn it? I don’t think that’s right.
“For instance, Shirley Ballas, in that way, you’d expect she would start on something lower because she’s never been on TV before. The show’s been going for 14 years,” Revel Horwood told The Sun.
“Len Goodman earned a major reputation and put the show on the map like we all did. We all created it from the beginning. And I don’t think it’s comparable. Sorry. It just isn’t.”
Judges Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Darcey Bussell earn between £150,000 and £199,999 from Strictly.