LONDON — For years, Samira Ahmed has presented a weekly, 15-minute program on BBC television that allows viewers to question the broadcaster’s executives about its shows. She’s never been paid more than £465, or $598, per episode.

During much of that time, Jeremy Vine presented another weekly, 15-minute program for the BBC that allows viewers to sound off about the network’s coverage. He was paid £3,000 for each episode.

On Monday, accompanied by other prominent BBC presenters and journalists, Ms. Ahmed went to court to sue the broadcaster over unequal pay. The BBC has long attracted criticism over disparities in the way it pays its staff, and Ms. Ahmed’s complaint comes just over a year after the BBC was forced to apologize to a senior journalist over pay disparities.