Battling for equal pay at BBC tougher than fighting cancer, says Carrie Gracie

CARRIE GRACIE has said her fight for equal pay at the BBC was more gruelling than having breast cancer, and that she believes the corporation will never give her a major presenting job again.

The former China editor finally won an apology and a six-figure sum from the corporation this month, after a lengthy grievance procedure. She resigned from her post in January, after discovering that she was paid at least 50 per cent less than male international editors.

Although she continues to work for BBC News, Gracie said she accepted that she had blotted her copybook with management.

“I will not ever get a big flagship programme now. You can’t be seen to be rewarded for the trouble you’ve caused,” she told The New Yorker.

Describing the toll that her campaign for equal pay had taken, Gracie said: “It’s definitely worse than breast cancer. The stress comes from all the judgment calls along the way.” She was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and underwent chemotherapy and a double mastectomy.

Towards the end of her grievance procedure, before Lord Hall stepped in to bring it to a close, Gracie went on leave because “it would be uncomfortable enough for me to be in a lift with some of these people.”

She was eventually awarded more than £300,000, which she has donated to the Fawcett Society.

Justin Webb, the Today programme presenter, told the magazine that the equal pay fight had been good for the corporation. “I think, in a way, it’s almost improved the atmosphere,” he said. “I don’t think you’d find many men who, even privately, would say, ‘It’s a load of nonsense, we should be allowed to keep this money, and the women are no good, anyway.’”