DAGGERS AT DAWN! ANGER ON THE BREAKFAST SOFA

YESTERDAY’S BBC Breakfast sofa banter turned a little frostier just hours before it emerged that newcomer Dan Walker earns up to £249,000 – far more than his female colleagues.

Fellow presenters including Louise Minchin, 48, who has been on the programme for 11 years, and Sally Nugent, 4 , were not on the list of 96 top-paid stars published by the BBC – meaning they earn less than £1 0,000. After a report on the issue yesterday, Miss Minchin said the figures were ‘going to be published at 11am’.

She then seems to look pointedly at Walker, who quips: ‘Could be a fun day ahead,’ before Miss Minchin turns away with a half-smile.

Walker, 40, later tried to explain the disparity, tweeting: ‘We get exactly the same for BBC Breakfast. I have another job on Football Focus.’