Entertainment

BBC stars not paid too much, says chairman

Pay packets of talent earning more than £150,000 will be published later this month.
Pay packets of talent earning more than £150,000 will be published later this month. Pay packets of talent earning more than £150,000 will be published later this month.

The BBC’s new chairman has denied that its top stars are overpaid.

The pay packets of talent earning more than £150,000 will be published later this month, under the terms of the BBC’s new royal charter.

Salaries of some of the BBC’s best-known faces, including Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker and chat show host Graham Norton, are expected to be disclosed.

Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker (Ian West/PA Archive/PA Images)
Gary Lineker hosts Match Of The Day (Ian West/PA)

Sir David Clementi, who took up his post in April, told the Financial Times: “We need to recruit and hold on to people with extraordinary talent.

“People expect to see top talent on the BBC and I don’t think you will see evidence of us overpaying people.

“It’s a pity Channel 4 and ITV are not producing their numbers at the same time.

BBC Chairman Sir David Clementi (BBC)
BBC Chairman Sir David Clementi (BBC) (Jeff Overs/BBC/Press Association Images)
BBC Chairman Sir David Clementi (BBC)

“It would be very interesting and I don’t think we would come out badly in that comparison.”

His comments come as the TV licence fee increased for the first time since 2010, from £145.50 to £147.

The BBC is shouldering the cost of free television licences for people aged over 75, which will cost the corporation an estimated £750 million by 2020.