BBC gender pay gap revealed: Two-thirds of top earners are men

Fiona Bruce earns a large salary for her news presenting and hosting Antiques Roadshow. Photo / Getty

The British Broadcasting Corporation has admitted it has a gender pay problem after revealing that two-thirds of its highest-paid stars are men.

Of the 96 top names earning £150,000 ($266,000) or more, 62 are male and 34 are female.

Releasing the BBC annual report, Lord Hall, the director-general, said: "At the moment, of the talent earning over £150,000, two-thirds are men and one-third are women.

"Is that where we want to be? No."

The backlash from female presenters has already begun, with one well-known name saying the corporation is stuffed with "male 'intellectual titans' with egos the size of planets" who have demanded huge salaries and got them.

The salaries of news and current affairs presenters such as John Humphrys, Eddie Mair and Huw Edwards are expected to dwarf those of their female counterparts.

BBC presenter and newsreader Huw Edwards is expected to be high up on the list of top earners. Photo / Getty

Armed with the figures, published for the first time at the government's request, women will now be able to demand parity.

"Women have got to get serious and stick up for each other. If you don't ask, you don't get," said one.

The gender pay gap affects news and current affairs, sport, entertainment and drama. Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Breakfast and BBC One's main news bulletins are expected to throw up significant salary differences despite presenters doing identical jobs.

Releasing early details of the report, Lord Hall said the BBC needs "to go further and faster on issues of gender and diversity" but he claimed that it is "most certainly" doing better than other broadcasters in that regard.

The corporation is braced for a staff revolt as employees discover the salaries of colleagues who do the same job.

A male household name on the list said: "Everyone is on tenterhooks. Imagine finding out that the person on the same rota as you earns vastly more.

"It is a nightmare for management. One manager here said, 'If you want me on Wednesday morning, I'll be under my desk.'"

In his speech, Lord Hall urged staff not to be jealous of colleagues' salaries. "A word of warning: comparing people's pay is not straightforward. Very few do precisely the same thing - people working at the same show may have other, or different, commitments," he said.

And in a sign that the BBC is prepared for a public backlash, he added: "We need to employ the very best... But of course we all appreciate that we are dealing with the public's money.

"We're talking about what, to lots of people, are large sums. This is not something we can take lightly."

A number of the top earners are newsreaders, and within the BBC questions are being asked about why the job merits such high pay.

One presenter who hosts a number of shows across the corporation said: "I wouldn't want to be the highest paid newsreader on the list. It's going to be very uncomfortable.

"Someone like Huw Edwards does the budget and elections and is highly skilled technically, and Fiona Bruce has carved out another role for herself on Antiques Roadshow.

"But if newsreading is your main thing, it will be very awkward to justify a high salary. People in the business just know it's not a highly skilled job."

The government demanded that the salary details be published in the annual report, despite resistance from the BBC.

Lord Hall said again last night that he believed the move to be "wrong", describing it as a "poachers' charter" for rival broadcasters.

And he claimed that the top earners represent "less than a quarter of one per cent" of the BBC talent pool. The total presenters' bill for the corporation is just under £194 million per year, down £4 million on the previous year.

Around 100 executives also earn more than the Prime Minister, the report revealed. There are now 306 senior managers, down from 640 in 2009.