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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Ian Jones

Which stars were the BBC’s biggest earners over the past year?

  • The BBC has released its annual report, detailing the salaries of its highest-paid on-air talent for the 2025/26 financial year, with Scott Mills topping the list.
  • Scott Mills' earnings are reported between £745,000 and £749,999, a significant increase from his previous salary band of £355,000-£359,999, following his move to present the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show in January 2025.
  • 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.
  • Gary Lineker , who was previously the BBC's highest-paid star, has seen his salary drop to between £325,000 and £329,999, placing him 15th on the list after his departure from the corporation in May last year.
  • The top 10 earners at the BBC for 2025/26 were Scott Mills, Greg James, Stephen Nolan, Vernon Kay, Laura Kuenssberg, Alan Shearer, Justin Webb, Naga Munchetty, Fiona Bruce and Sophie Raworth.

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