Shearer’s catch of the day...BBC salary
revealed
TOON legend Alan Shearer’s BBC paypacket has been revealed - with the former England striker netting between £400,000 and £449,999. The ex-NUFC player is one of the organisation’s highest earners. His leading role as a pundit on Match of the Day, along with work on other BBC shows, sees him paid significantly more than many of his contemporaries elsewhere in the corporation. Some social media users have reacted with surprise to Shearer’s bumper pay-packet, suggesting it is excessive in comparison to the air time he receives. But Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah said she did not begrudge some stars receiving good salaries, and said she was pleased Newcastle’s Shearer, was representing the North East in the list of highest paid stars. It comes as the BBC has been told it has “a long way to go” after it admitted paying top male stars far more than women.
DJ Chris Evans is the highest-paid on-air talent at the BBC, earning more than £2 million a year.
And former England football star Gary Lineker earns more than £1.75 million.
But the top-earning woman, Claudia Winkleman, earns somewhere between £400,000 and £449,999.
The BBC has published a list of talent who earn more than £150,000 are women, and two thirds are men.
Newcastle Central MP Ms Onwurah said it was important that the BBC “showcases top British talent” which means it has to offer high salaries.
But she added: “As a public sector broadcaster, however, they should be nurturing new talent rather than always rewarding existing talent.
“In terms of what it’s revealed on the gender pay gap, it shows that the BBC for all its fine words on diversity and representation still has a long way to go.
“I would also be interested to see what the split was between privately-educated and stateschool educated. The reporting is doing its job in exposing the inequalities in the BBC as a public sector broadcaster.”