BBC boss Tony Hall pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2020; the publication of top salaries reveals there’s still work to do

Huw Edwards (£550,000 to £599,999) and Fiona Bruce (£350,000 to £399,999)

Edwards, 55, joined the BBC as a trainee in 1984. He is the lead presenter for BBC News at Ten, the corporation’s flagship news broadcast. He also presents BBC coverage of state and international events, such as the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and the Queen’s diamond jubilee.



Bruce, 53, joined the BBC in 1989 as a researcher for Panorama. She climbed the ranks and has presented a number of flagship programmes including BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Antiques Roadshow and most recently Fake or Fortune.

Q&A How does BBC pay compare to its competitors? Show Hide The reason the BBC was told to publish the list of top earners was to demonstrate whether it is delivering value for money - in other words, whether it pays in line with the market. Given that no other broadcaster publishes the pay of its stars this is difficult to prove, but Tony Hall, the director general, insists the BBC aims to pay people at a discount to the market while Gary Lineker, one of the top earners, insists he has been offered more lucrative deals to leave. One publicly available pay deal is for Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, who gets £1.5m a year - which would put him second on the BBC’s list behind Chris Evans.

John Humphrys (£600,000 to £649,999) and Mishal Husain (£200,000 to £250,000)

Humphrys, 73, joined the BBC in 1966. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the Nine O’Clock News, and since 1987 has been a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Since 2003 he has been the host of the BBC Two quiz show Mastermind.

Husain, born in 1973, joined the BBC in 1998 as a junior producer. She is also a presenter on the Today programme, as well as BBC World News and BBC Weekend News. Of the other Today presenters, Nick Robinson earns from £250,000 to £299,999, Justin Webb earns between £150,000 and £199,999, and Sarah Montague does not earn enough to feature on the list.

Gary Lineker (£1,750,000 to £1,799,999) and Clare Balding (£150,000 to £199,999)

Lineker, 56, a retired professional footballer, started his career with the broadcaster initially on BBC Radio 5 Live in the late 1990s before taking over from Des Lynam as the BBC’s anchorman for football coverage, including presenting Match of the Day. He also presents all major international football events for the corporation.

Balding, 46, started with the BBC as as trainee in 1994, making her TV debut in 1995 at Royal Ascot. She went on to report and present coverage for major sporting events including six Olympic Games, horse-racing, Wimbledon tennis tournament and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.



Derek Thompson (£350,000 to £399,999) and Gillian Taylforth (£150,000 to £199,999)

Thompson, 69, has played the part of nurse Charlie Fairhead in BBC’s long-running drama series Casualty since the show’s launch in 1986. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) website, he has starred in excess of 700 episodes. He is the highest-paid actor on the list.

Taylforth, 61, is best known for her role in the BBC’s flagship soap opera EastEnders as Kathy Beale, who she first played in 1985. According to the IMDb website, she has played the character in more than 1,000 episodes.

Nick Knowles (£300,000 to £349,999) and Mel Giedroyc (£150,000 to £199,000)

Knowles, 54, currently presents DIY SOS, which has been running since 1999, and gameshow Who Dares Wins.



Giedroyc’s most well-known role at the BBC was presenting the Great British Bake Off from 2010 to 2017 over seven series before it was sold to Channel 4 and she decided not to continue. The 49-year-old then presented Let It Shine, the reality talent show with Take That star Gary Barlow. She has also presented Saturday night show Pitch Battle and gameshow Letterbox.

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

Matt Baker (£450,000 to £499,000) and Alex Jones (£400,000 to £449,000)

Baker, 39, has been with the BBC since 2000 when he joined the presenting team on children’s show Blue Peter. Since 2009 he has been a presenter on Countryfile and since 2011 he has presented The One Show alongside Alex Jones.

Jones, 40, has been presenting The One Show since 2010. In 2015, she began presenting the daytime series Close Calls on camera for BBC One and in 2016 she began co-hosting the BBC series Shop Well for Less? alongside Steph McGovern.