BBC orders stars' pay deals review

Last Modified: 12 Jun 2007
Source: PA News

The BBC is to review its role in the huge pay deals commanded by top talent.

There was anger in many quarters when the Corporation handed Jonathan Ross a reported £18 million pay deal over three years.

Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas are said to be picking up £6 million, and Graham Norton £5 million, over a similar period.

The BBC has always argued that it must pay market prices in order to retain stars who may be tempted to join rival channels. But the BBC Trust, under new chairman Sir Michael Lyons, is to order a review into whether the fees represent value for money - and whether the Corporation is fuelling high wage demands rather than responding to them.

The talent costs review will begin next year, and will be carried out by someone with expert knowledge of the industry. However, the review will not look at the pay deals of individual stars.

A BBC Trust spokeswoman said: "For the trust to do its job properly as the steward of the licence fee and ensuring quality programmes that create maximum value for the public, it needs to understand the big issues which have the greatest impact on what appears on screen and radio. Talent costs understandably raise questions for the public. So the trust must ensure it has a proper understanding of how the BBC operates in these markets to satisfy itself that the greatest value is being created for audiences."

Further details of the study will be outlined when the BBC publishes its annual report on July 3.

Last year, one of the BBC's own reporters publicly criticised the "obscene" pay deal given to Jonathan Ross. Theo Leggett, the Corporation's Brussels-based Europe business reporter, wrote in the BBC's in-house magazine: "At a time when managers are culling staff in the name of 'value for money', it is little short of obscene that a single performer, however talented, can earn (a reported) £6 million a year. That's enough to pay 200 people an annual salary of £30,000.

"Over the past 18 months, management has been trying to close 330 posts in news alone in order to save cash. The implication here is clear - the BBC is willing to compromise its news operation in order to secure the services of one supposed ratings-grabber. I'm not sure that's what public service broadcasting is supposed to be about."

Ross is not the only BBC star with a lavish pay packet. Documents leaked last year claimed Jeremy Paxman is paid £940,000 a year, Radio 2's Sir Terry Wogan gets £800,000 a year and Radio 1 breakfast host Chris Moyles pockets an annual £630,000.

These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.