BBC pays me less because I’m not posh says TV Steph
A WORKING-class BBC presenter has exposed a new pay gap at the corporation, claiming posh women are paid more for doing the same job.
Steph McGovern, who presents BBC Breakfast, claims she was once told she was “too common” for an on-screen role.
Proud of her roots in Middlesbrough and her strong, regional accent, she said she has always had to argue about her pay.
“It’s not as simple as a gender issue, it’s partly down to class,” said Ms McGovern, who also presents Watchdog.
“There are a lot of women who do a similar job to me who are paid a hell of a lot more who are a lot posher than me.”
Ms McGovern revealed she received a “significant pay rise” as part of the renegotiation of salaries in the wake of the BBC pay scandal.
The increase brought her into the six-figure pay bracket for the first time, she said.
The 35-year-old urged the BBC to recruit more Steph McGovern is proud of her roots working-class broadcasters with a range of regional accents. “We concentrate too much on ethnic diversity and not enough on class,” she said. “It’s dead important to represent loads of different cultures. “The BBC doesn’t do enough about getting people from more working-class backgrounds. “It’s just posh. A lot of people in management are from the same background.” A BBC spokesman said: “More than 80 per cent of our staff were educated in state schools.”