The stars you won’t see on the BBC highest salaries list – and why

The BBC does not have to disclose the salaries of stars whose programmes were made by independent companies

Graham Norton (PA)

Claudia Winkleman, Michael McIntyre and Graham Norton are among the stars whose salaries will not appear on the BBC’s annual report.

For the seventh year in a row, Gary Lineker has topped a list of the BBC's best-paid stars earning £1.35m in the last financial year.

The BBC discloses the salaries of talent and executives earning above the £178,000 threshold and has done so for seven years. Other well-known stars who could be earning similar sums to Lineker will not have their accounts publicly aired.

They include Michael McIntyre, Bradley Walsh, Alex Jones, Paddy McGuinness, Claudia Winkleman, Romesh Ranganathan, Alexander Armstrong, Richard Osman, Lord Sugar and Graham Norton.

They escape the glare of public scrutiny because of a loophole which means the BBC does not have to disclose the salaries of stars whose programmes were made by independent companies.

Gary Lineker (The FA via Getty Images)

That includes those paid by BBC Studios, the corporation’s commercial company, which produces Doctor Who, Top Gear, Strictly Come Dancing and Happy Valley among others.

The BBC’s first annual report in 2017 put Ms Winkleman as the highest-paid female celebrity, earning between £450,000 and £500,000 for various BBC work including Strictly, her Radio 2 programme and The Great British Sewing Bee.

According to BBC News, comedian Mr McIntyre would be near the top of the salaries list if he were to be included thanks to his hosting duties for both The Wheel and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show. He is also regularly seen on BBC One in primetime on Saturday nights.

Other stars who would likely top the charts include The Chase star Mr Walsh and Pointless stars Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong.

The broadcaster says it is “almost certain” Mr Norton would also appear despite his salary being significantly less than it used to be following his Radio 2 exit in 2020.

The Irish chatshow host previously admitted that a “bonus” of leaving BBC Radio a few years ago was that he would no longer appear on the annual list of salaries.

“The only thing that was part of the decision was oh, if I stopped doing this, I’ll get off that list. I won’t be on that list anymore. The kind of high earners list, which I didn’t like being on it, hey, now I’m not. So to that extent, it made me go… but that was sort of a bonus of leaving, it wasn’t the biggest driving force”, he said on Times Radio.

He also told BBC News in 2018 the list was “frustrating, because it’s so inaccurate,” drawing attention to the large number of missing names.

Some presenters are also listed for some of their BBC work, but not all of it. Amol Rajan is listed for his work as a news presenter and Radio 4’s Today programme, but not for University Challenge. Evan Davis is also listed for his work as a daily Radio 4 presenter but not Dragons’ Den.

The Dragons themselves, including Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden, are also not included on the list.

Question Time presenter is frequently in the top ten list too despite her work for Antiques Roadshow not being taken into account, as it’s also part of BBC Studios.

BBC Studios is a commercial organisation in competition with other streaming services like Netflix, BBC itself and other broadcasters. The corporation successfully convinced the government that BBC Studios’ salaries should not be disclosed because the money does not come directly from the licence fee.

As well as salaries, the corporation’s report will highlight its successes over the past year and talk about the culture and treatment of contestants on its flagship show Strictly Come Dancing which is currently under internal investigation.