BBC to publish stars’ pay in greater detail

THE PAY packets of top BBC stars will be published in more detail this summer.

Last year, wages were revealed in bands of £10,000 rather than the previous £50,000, after talks with the Government over transparency. Now the broadcaster will disclose the pay of those earning over £150,000 in bands of £5,000. But an independent review concluded that publishing details of those earning over £150,000 should not be extended to commercial operations, such as BBC Studios.

The corporation has been criticised for not publishing payments through BBC Studios, which is not funded by the licence fee and became a commercial entity. It meant that payments to the likes of Claudia Winkleman, inset, for Strictly Come Dancing and Alex Jones for The One Show were absent from the top pay list.

The BBC said the changes will “help staff and managers better understand the way decisions on pay are made”. Director-general Tony Hall added: “We are already more transparent than most organisations, but the additional steps we are taking mean that we will go even further.” Last summer’s report showed Gary Lineker was the BBC’s highest earner, in a list dominated by men.

Since the furore over pay, Zoe Ball has taken over from Chris Evans, who had been one of the BBC’s biggest earners, on Radio 2’s Breakfast Show, while Fiona Bruce landed the role of Question Time host.