The former BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills was the corporation’s highest earner until his sacking in March, newly released figures have revealed.
The 53-year-old broadcaster earned between £745,000 and £749,999 for the year ending in March 2026, according to the BBC’s Annual Report.
This substantial sum covered his work on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, which he took over from Zoe Ball in January 2025, alongside Pop: Top 10 episodes and various other public service engagements.
Mills was sacked by the BBC shortly before it emerged that the Metropolitan Police had launched an investigation into him in 2016 over allegations of serious sexual offences involving a boy aged under 16 between 1997 and 2000.
In the previous year's report, the Southampton-born presenter's earnings were considerably lower, recorded between £355,000 and £359,999, placing him as the joint 11th highest earner alongside Naga Munchetty.
During his 28-year stint at the BBC, Mills hosted shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 as well as the channel’s coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year, he won the second series of Celebrity Race Across the World with his husband Sam Vaughan and was set to host the show’s companion podcast this year but was replaced by Strictly star Tyler West after his firing.
Earlier this month, Mills was replaced on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show by Sara Cox – who hosted her first show four months after Mills’ sudden firing.
Elsewhere in the ranking, Gary Lineker, the former England footballer who once topped the BBC’s pay list, saw a significant reduction in his income. For the year to March 2026, Lineker earned between £325,000 and £329,999, placing him 15th in the most recent list.
This follows his departure from the BBC in May last year, and is a stark contrast to his previous annual salary of between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999.
Lineker’s 2025/2026 earnings came from his work on Premier League highlights show Match of the Day, and other football coverage.
Lineker was not the only high earner to depart the BBC, as Ball no longer features on the list.
Ball was second on last year’s highest-paid list, and will now present an afternoon show on Greatest Hits Radio from September.
BBC Match of the Day football pundit and former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer saw his pay decrease from between £440,000 and £444,999 last year, to between £390,000 and £394,999, making him sixth on the list.
BBC political journalist Laura Kuenssberg was the highest-paid female staff member with a salary of between £405,000 and £409,999 in the latest report.
The second-highest-paid staff member was BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James, who earned between £440,000 and £444,999, and the third-highest paid was Northern Irish radio presenter Stephen Nolan, with a salary of between £425,000 and £429,999.
Kuenssberg was fourth on the list, joint with Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay.
Seventh on the list was journalist Justin Webb with a salary between £375,000 and £379,999, and eighth was Munchetty with a salary of between £360,000 and £364,999.
The top 10 was rounded off with Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce, with a salary ranging between £345,000 and £349,999, placing her ninth; and journalist Sophie Raworth in 10th with a salary of between £340,000 and £344,999.
Four women featured in this year’s top 10, up from three last year. The list does not include people who are paid through independent production companies or the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Studios.
The BBC is required to declare a list of salaries paid to people both on air and off air who receive more than £178,000 from licence fee revenue in the year.
