BBC presenter Andrew Marr has said an imminent report revealing the salaries of the broadcaster’s top earners could prove ‘uncomfortable’.
- Marr said report will reveal how he is paid far below his rivals on other channels
- BBC required to share details of all staff who are paid more than £150,000 a year
- Critics claim the rule means rival broadcasters can poach the BBC’s best talent
- Gary Lineker said to earn £1.8m, while Chris Evans was reportedly on £600,000
Marr, who described himself as ‘well paid’, claimed the pay disclosure would reveal how he was being paid far below his equivalents on rival channels (rivals don’t force the public to fund them).
As part of the new Royal Charter, the BBC must share details of all its staff and executives who are paid more than £150,000 a year through the BBC licence fee.
Critics claim the rule means the personal finances of top stars are revealed to broadcast rivals of the BBC, making it easier for them to poach talent.
During an event at the China Exchange on Friday, Marr said the report would reveal he was not as ‘overpaid’ as his contemporaries, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
When asked to confirm reports that his pay was in the region of £580,000, he said the figure was ‘much less’, adding the public would soon know the exact number.
Marr said: ‘It’s uncomfortable for all of us.
‘I’m well paid but I’m much less overpaid, perhaps, than people working for rival organisations who won’t go through this process.’
In September, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told the House of Commons that she wanted a BBC that was as ‘open and transparent’ as she revealed the new charter.
Senior BBC executives, led by Director General Tony Hall, led criticism of the proposals for damaging the BBC’s ability to work in a competitive marketplace.
The high-profile presenters who also face having their pay disclosed include journalists (BBC has 6,000) such as Laura Kuenssberg, Sophie Raworth and Nick Robinson.
A list of 43 BBC celebrities reportedly being paid more than £143,000 was heavily denied by the BBC after it was published by a news website in May of last year.
Gary Lineker is said to earn £1.8million, while Chris Evans was reportedly on £600,000, plus an extra £125,000 for each episode of Top Gear he presented.
Radio 2 DJ Jeremy Vine is understood to be on £800,000 and Strictly Come Dancing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are on about £500,000.
Fiona Bruce, the newsreader and presenter of Antiques Roadshow and Fake Or Fortune, is also thought to earn £500,000.