Zoe Ball requested a 28% cut in pay when she agreed a new two-year deal with the BBC as host of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, it was revealed yesterday.
Her decision means her new salary now stands at £980k, compared with the £1.36m she earned last year ... But because Ball's new pay deal only came into force a few months ago, her pay this year stands at £1.13m.
One source said: “Zoe has always been grateful for the wage she earns, but in the current climate, and during a pandemic, she felt increasingly uncomfortable about how much she earnt.”
Her decision to take a pay cut follows Gary Lineker's, announced last year, which saw him sign a five-year deal to front Match of the Day with his pay reducing 23% from £1.75m to £1.36m.
Unveiling the BBC's annual report yesterday, Director General Tim Davie said: “We have reduced pay on our top stars by 10% and I should say some of the changes won't yet have fed through in the numbers in the report. Zoe Ball,for example, requested a pay cut when she agreed her new deal and that full reduction of 28% isn't yet fully reflected in the figures published today.”
He said many stars had been more than willing to accept pay cuts during the pandemic. “Everyone recognises the strategy which is about getting value to audiences. Conversations have been constructive. Everyone is with the programme on that one.”
A BBC spokesperson added: “Zoe Ball is a world-class broadcaster hosting Radio 2’s flagship show and her professionalism and commitment to the Breakfast Show is extraordinary. She’s hugely talented and has made the show her own, with many millions of listeners tuning in each morning to the nation’s most listened to Breakfast Show.”
The reduction of 10% was also helped by Graham Norton earning just £160,000 last year for his weekly Radio 2 programme, which ended in December. The previous year his pay, which also covered Eurovision, stood at £730,000.
Many other stars have also taken pay cuts including newsreader Huw Edwards (40k) to £430k, Fiona Bruce (45k) to £410k, Steve Wright (£10k) to £470k and Ken Bruce (20k) to £370.
Claudia Winkleman, who last year earned £370,000, is not on the list at all after her former Radio 2 show was taken off air last spring at the start of the pandemic. Her new Saturday show started in February.
The BBC said it still hadn't fully closed the gender pay gap,but it had been further reduced from 6.2% to 5.2%.
Licence fee income was up £230million – 7% - to £3.75bn thanks to over-75s now paying for licences. Commercial income was down from £1.57bn to £1.38bn because of the impact of Covid-19 on production, but Davie said BBC Studios remained on track to hit its five-year target.
