BBC highest paid stars: Why are stars such as Strictly's Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly not on annual list?
The BBC’s annual salary list for 2024/25 has been published but some big names are missing.
Gary Lineker topped the annual salary list for the final time following his departure from the BBC earlier this year. The former Match Of The Day host, who had only planned to step down from the flagship programme but stay at the BBC, netted more than £1.3 million before he cut ties with the broadcaster completely in May.
BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host Zoe Ball, who earned just over £515,000 for her work, was also on the list. The radio star stepped back from her popular breakfast slot on the station in December, but has since returned to Radio 2 with a Saturday afternoon show.
Other stars in the top ten included Alan Shearer, Greg James, Laura Kuenssberg and Vernon Kay.
But some of the biggest names on BBC shows appear to be missing from the list. Here’s why some huge names on the BBC do not have their salary disclosed.
Why are some BBC stars missing from the annual salary list?
Some of the BBC’s biggest stars reach millions of people across the country with their shows and programming. Claudia Winkleman is one of the biggest presenting talents at the broadcaster, fronting huge hit shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors. Tess Daly also partners her on Strictly Come Dancing, alongside judges Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas.
Other prominent BBC stars include Gavin & Stacey actor and Would I Lie To You? presenter Rob Brydon, Sort Your Life out presenter Stacey Solomon - who also appeared in a fly-on-the-wall BBC reality show about her and husband Joe Swash’s home life - as well as Rylan Clark, who presents part of the BBC’s Eurovision coverage, a travel series with Rob Rinder and a weekly BBC Radio 2 show.
Despite being some of the biggest names on the Beeb, they and many like them are all missing from the annual BBC on-air salaries list.
The reason behind this is because stars such as these are not directly employed by the BBC. Instead, these stars are either employees or contracted under various production companies, including the BBC’s own commercial arm BBC Studios. BBC Studios is not funded by the licence fee and therefore is not required to publish details of its employees salaries.