Stars Missing from BBC’s Highest Salaries List – Here’s Why

Claudia Winkleman, Michael McIntyre, and Graham Norton are among notable celebrities whose salaries will not appear in the BBC’s annual report. For the seventh consecutive year, Gary Lineker stands as the BBC’s highest-paid star, earning £1.35m in the last financial year.

The BBC reveals the salaries of talent and executives earning above £178,000, a practice they have maintained for seven years. However, other prominent stars who might be making sums comparable to Lineker will not have their earnings disclosed publicly.

This list includes Michael McIntyre, Bradley Walsh, Alex Jones, Paddy McGuinness, Claudia Winkleman, Romesh Ranganathan, Alexander Armstrong, Richard Osman, Lord Sugar, and Graham Norton. They remain undisclosed due to a loophole that exempts the salaries of those involved in programmes produced by independent companies.

This exemption also includes those paid by BBC Studios, the corporation’s commercial arm, which produces popular shows like Doctor Who, Top Gear, Strictly Come Dancing, and Happy Valley.

The BBC’s first annual report released in 2017 had listed Claudia Winkleman as the highest-paid female celebrity, with earnings between £450,000 and £500,000 for her work on various BBC projects like Strictly, her Radio 2 show, and The Great British Sewing Bee.

According to BBC News, comedian Michael McIntyre would likely be near the top of the salary list if included, thanks to his roles on The Wheel and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show. He is a regular feature on BBC One during primetime Saturday nights.

Other stars who would top the charts include The Chase’s Bradley Walsh and Pointless stars Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong. It is “almost certain” that Graham Norton would also be high on the list, despite his salary being reduced after he left Radio 2 in 2020.

The Irish chat show host had previously admitted that a “bonus” of leaving BBC Radio was not appearing on the annual salary list anymore. He mentioned, “The only thing that was part of the decision was oh, if I stopped doing this, I’ll get off that list. I won’t be on that list anymore. The kind of high earners list, which I didn’t like being on it, hey, now I’m not. So to that extent, it made me go… but that was sort of a bonus of leaving, it wasn’t the biggest driving force.”

In 2018, Norton also told BBC News that the list was “frustrating, because it’s so inaccurate,” pointing out the many missing names.

Some presenters are listed for some of their BBC work, but not all. For instance, Amol Rajan is listed for his roles as a news presenter and for Radio 4’s Today programme, but not for University Challenge. Evan Davis is similarly listed for his work as a daily Radio 4 presenter but not for Dragons’ Den. The Dragons themselves, including Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden, are also not on the list.

Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce frequently appears in the top ten list, although her work for Antiques Roadshow is not disclosed as it falls under BBC Studios.

BBC Studios, a commercial entity, competes with streaming services like Netflix and other broadcasters. The BBC managed to convince the government that salaries at BBC Studios should not be disclosed, as the money does not come from the licence fee.

Besides listing salaries, the corporation’s report will highlight achievements over the past year and address the culture and treatment of contestants on its flagship show Strictly Come Dancing, which is currently undergoing internal investigation.