BBC reveals highest-paid stars: Gary Lineker, Zoe Ball and Greg James among broadcaster’s top earners
The BBC has published its annual report including details of the highest paid stars, as bosses deal with the fallout from allegations made against a presenter.
Gary Lineker is once again the broadcaster’s biggest earner, taking home between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in 2022-23 – the same amount as the previous year – for his work on Match Of The Day, Sports Personality Of The Year, the World Cup and FA Cup.
Zoe Ball, who presents Radio 2’s breakfast show, is second on the BBC list, earning between £980,000 and £984,999 for her work on the programme, plus a Terry Wogan tribute. Like Lineker, her salary has not changed in the last 12 months.
The top 10 is made up of six male and four female stars – a change from seven men and three women last year – with football commentator Alan Shearer, news presenters Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce, and radio stars Lauren Laverne and Greg James also among the highest earners.
Read more:
BBC took seven weeks to tell presenter of allegations
New timeline released as police release update – latest updates
However, the list does not paint a full picture as the organisation does not have to make public the salaries of stars who are paid through its commercial arm BBC Studios or independent production companies – so big names such as Claudia Winkleman, Tess Daly, Graham Norton, Alex Jones and Michael McIntyre, and the top stars of shows such as EastEnders, are noticeably absent.
In the top 10, Edwards and Laverne, along with former Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce and newsreader Sophie Raworth, saw increases in their pay from the previous year – although salaries for many have remained the same or dipped slightly amid ongoing scrutiny of the BBC over the amounts earned by its top talent.
Edwards is the corporation’s highest paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000 – £439,999 – up from £410,000 – £414,000 last year. This puts him fourth on the list behind Shearer, who saw a drop in his earnings from £450,000 – £454,999 in 2021-22, to £445,000 – £449,999 this year.
Ken Bruce, who left earlier this year after 31 years at the helm of the Radio 2 mid-morning weekday slot, was up £5,000, to £390,000 – £394,999.
Lauren Laverne hosts Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 and shows on Radio 6 Music. Pic: BBC/Ray Burmiston
Along with Laverne and Raworth he is new to the top 10, as Steve Wright, Vanessa Feltz and Scott Mills have dropped down after leaving their respective BBC shows.
Feltz, who announced in July last year that she was leaving her shows on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio London, was previously in the salary bracket of £400,000 – £404,999. Mills left his BBC Radio 1 show after 24 years in August, but continues to present in the afternoon slot on BBC Radio 2.
Lineker first topped the list in 2017-18, taking a voluntary pay cut of £10,000 in 2020 after pressure from female staff for greater pay parity.
Other stars among the high earners this year include George Alagiah, Naga Munchetty and Amol Rajan (all in the £335,000-£339,999 bracket), Laura Kuenssberg (£305,000-£309,999), and Nicky Campbell and Victoria Derbyshire (£295,000-£299,999).
The annual report also includes salary details for bosses, with director-general Tim Davie taking home between £525,000 and £529,999 in 2022-23.
“I am proud of the content we have delivered – the very best of the BBC – from royal programming to wonderful sporting moments and coverage of the Ukraine war,” Mr Davie said as the figures were released. “We have seen this again recently, with Eurovision, the Coronation and Glastonbury.
“It remains a period of change, financial pressures and great competition in the media market. Our task is not always easy and we have to make some difficult choices.
“But these are challenges we must embrace as we know that the BBC is needed now more than ever, in an age of polarisation and increasing disinformation.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Richest billionaires named
Springsteen’s seven new albums
He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Penguin island facing tariffs
Richest billionaires named
Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
Entertainment
Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail
A man who stalked Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas for six years has avoided jail.
Kyle Shaw, 37, got a 20-month suspended sentence and a lifetime restraining order on contacting Ballas, her mother, niece, and former partner.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that he thought Ballas was his aunt and “began a persistent campaign of contact”.
“He believed, and it’s evident from what he was told by his mother, that her late brother was his father,” said prosecutor Nicola Daley.
The court heard there was no evidence he was wrong, and “limited evidence” he was correct.
Ms Daley said Shaw’s messages had accused Ballas of being to blame for the death of her brother, who took his own life in 2003 aged 44.
He also set up social media accounts in his name.
Shaw had pleaded guilty to stalking the former dancer between August 2017 and November 2023 at a hearing in February.
Incidents included following Ballas’s 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping and telling her she was his grandmother.
The court heard in messages to Mrs Rich, Shaw had asked: “Where’s my dad?”
Ballas was so worried for her mother’s safety that she moved her from Merseyside to London.
Kyle Shaw outside court on the day of his sentencing. Pic: PA
In October 2020, Ballas called police after Shaw messaged her and said: “Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?”
Posts on X included one alongside an image of her home address that warned: “You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone’s around you.”
Another referenced a book signing and said: “I can’t wait to meet you for the first time Aunty Shirley. Hopefully I can get an autograph.”
The court was told Ballas’s niece Mary Assall, former partner Daniel Taylor and colleagues from Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s Loose Women were also sent messages.
‘I know where you live’
On one occasion in late 2023, Shaw called Mr Taylor and told him he knew where the couple lived and described Ballas’s movements.
The court heard the 64-year-old TV star become wary of socialising and stopped using public transport.
Prosecutor Ms Daley said: “She described having sleepless nights worrying about herself and her family’s safety and being particularly distressed when suggestions were made to her that she and her mother were responsible for her brother taking his own life.”
Ballas has been head judge on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017. Pic: PA
Shaw cried and wiped away tears as he was sentenced on Tuesday.
The judge said the stalking stemmed from his mother telling him Ballas’s brother, David Rich, was his biological father.
“I’m satisfied that your motive for this offending was a desire to seek contact with people you genuinely believed were your family,” he said.
“Whether in fact there’s any truth in that belief is difficult, if not impossible, to determine.”
Shaw pictured at court in February. Pic: PA
Read more from Sky News:
Cast of Beatles films revealed
Tractor crashes into houses in Cheshire
Defence lawyer John Weate said Shaw had been told the story by his mother “in his mid to late teens” and had suffered “complex mental health issues” since he was a child.
He added: “He now accepts that Miss Ballas and her family don’t wish to have any contact with him and, importantly, he volunteered the information that he has no intention of contacting them again.”
Shaw, of Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, also admitted possessing cannabis and was ordered to undertake a rehab programme.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway