Zoe Ball joined Graham Norton and Gary Lineker among the highest-paid at the corporation

The number of BBC presenters and executives paid more than £150,000 has jumped substantially over the past year, despite the corporation’s pledges to restrain star pay.

Fiona Bruce, Sarah Montague, Jo Whiley and Lauren Laverne are among the BBC women handed significant pay rises as the corporation seeks to close the gender pay gap, official figures show.

The latest BBC “rich list”, published yesterday, contains 75 on-air names, up from 64 last year. Total spend on talent salaries of £150,000 or more rose from £19.8 million to £21.8 million.

The number of executives earning in excess of £150,000 has risen from 92 to 106. The highest paid presenter at the corporation remains Gary Lineker, the Match of the Day anchor, on £1.75 million, the same