The BBC will admit this week it has made mistakes in how it has paid on-air stars and reveal it is prepared to work with women who have campaigned for equal pay at the corporation to overhaul its pay structure.

The broadcaster will reveal a “big, bold package of modernisation that will right the wrongs of the past”, according to a senior BBC source.



It is expected to publish an audit of the pay of its stars by the accountancy firm PwC on Tuesday. Alongside this the BBC will reveal a set of proposals designed to respond to issues raised by the report and criticism of the broadcaster since it revealed last summer that two-thirds of its best-paid stars are men.



BBC management will then consult with staff about the proposals before they are introduced, giving women who have campaigned for equal pay a chance to have their say. The audit and BBC response will focus on stars in news and current affairs.

Senior female journalists at the BBC have already indicated they are unhappy with the PwC report and are sceptical about how significant the broadcasters’s proposals will be. But BBC management hope that offering staff an input in developing the proposals will help to stem any backlash.

Q&A What were the top 10 BBC salaries for 2017? Show Hide 1. Chris Evans £2.2m - £2.25m

2. Gary Lineker £1.75m - £1.8m 3. Graham Norton £850,0000 - £899,999 4. Jeremy Vine £700,000 - £749,999 5. John Humphrys £600,000 - £649,999 6. Huw Edwards £550,000 - £599,999 7. Steve Wright £500,000 - £549,999 = 8. Claudia Winkleman £450,000 - £499,999 = 8. Matt Baker £450,000 - £499,999 = 9. Nicky Campbell £400,000 - £449,999 = 9. Andrew Marr £400,000 - £449,999 = 9. Stephen Nolan £400,000 - £449,999 = 9. Alan Shearer £400,000 - £449,999 =9. Alex Jones £400,000 - £449,000 10. Fiona Bruce £350,000 - £399,999

The broadcaster has been under mounting pressure about pay equality since the presenter Carrie Gracie resigned as China editor earlier this month in protest at its “secretive and illegal” pay culture.

Six of the BBC’s top-earning male presenters – John Humphrys, Jeremy Vine, Huw Edwards, Nicky Campbell, Nick Robinson and Jon Sopel – last week agreed to lower salaries as the corporation tries to respond to the row.

But these cuts have been questioned by a campaign group of more than 170 broadcasters and producers, including the Radio 4 Woman’s Hour presenter Jane Garvey, the Radio 4 Today programme’s Mishal Husain and the BBC2 presenter Victoria Derbyshire.

BBC Women warned that management at the broadcaster should focus on “a comprehensive strategy to correct all unequal pay decisions it has made for decades rather than on a few high-profile individuals”.

In a statement, the group said: “For the last six months we have been calling for a transparent and systematic mechanism to address pay inequality for women at all levels, especially those working in less-well-paid, off-air roles. We hope that BBC management seizes the opportunity to change the culture for future generations of hard-working women and men.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Carrie Gracie, who resigned as China editor in protest over the BBC’s ‘secretive and illegal’ pay culture. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Senior BBC figures are holding back on talking publicly about the pay row until the publication of the PwC report and the organisation’s response. Tony Hall, the BBC director general, is due to face questions by MPs on the influential digital, culture, media and sport committee on Wednesday afternoon, with Gracie also appearing.

However, BBC management is understood to be confident that its proposals will answer at least some of the questions and criticism the broadcaster has faced.

A BBC source said: “We recognise we have got some things wrong – in particular, the pay of some very senior presenters in news. The wide-ranging plan we will publish on Tuesday addresses these issues and is the next stage in the modernisation programme at the BBC. People want us to act and that’s what we’ve been doing – pay cuts are only one part of the picture.



“We have already published an equal pay audit for around 18,000 staff and a gender pay gap report – the issues we have to address are not universal or about the many, but there is more to do.



