Gary Lineker is the BBC’s top earning on-air talent for the fifth consecutive year and the only name to earn over £1 million annually, new figures show. The 61-year-old pundit and former footballer was paid between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in 2021/2022 for work including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year – a reduction of £10,000 on the previous year.
Lineker first topped the list for 2017/18 with a pay bracket of £1,750,000 to £1,759,999, and in 2020 it was announced he had taken a voluntary pay cut. Zoe Ball remains the broadcaster’s second highest paid talent, with a salary of £980,000 to £984,999, but figures show her salary falling for a second consecutive year.
Her salary has now slipped to below £1 million and reflects approximately 210 editions of The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Radio 2.
Alan Shearer has seen a year-on-year increase of £60,000, bringing his salary to £450,000-£454,999, which puts him joint third with Steve Wright, whose salary this year reflects a £15,000 decrease. The corporation’s annual report for 2021/22, which also marks its centenary, shows four out of the top 10 best paid names have seen their salaries fall.
The only new addition to the top 10 is Greg James, whose salary has increased by £80,000. The 36-year-old earns between £390,000 and £394,999 for work including the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Rewinder on Radio 4, Radio 1’s Big Weekend and Out Out! Live, with Sports Personality Of The Year also listed.
This year’s top 10 features fewer women that last year, dropping from four to three. Lauren Laverne does not feature in this year’s top 10, with figures showing her salary has fallen by £15,000 to the bracket of £380,000-£384,999.
Other notable increases on the overall list of top earning on-air talent, as shown in the annual report, include Naga Munchetty with a £110,000 increase and Amol Rajan with an increase of £85,000. Victoria Derbyshire, meanwhile, has seen a £70,000 increase.
Graham Norton is also absent from the list after departing Radio 2 in December 2020 to start a show at Virgin Radio.
The BBC has seen a number of high-profile on-air departures over the last year, with Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, Andrew Marr and Dan Walker all leaving for rival broadcasters. It comes after Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced earlier this year that the BBC’s licence fee will be frozen under inflation for the next two years.
Here is a full list of BBC on-air salaries for 2021/22 above £150,000, as published in the BBC annual report.
The list is ranked by salary band, starting with the highest.
The equivalent salary band for 2020/21 is shown in brackets, with a description of the year-on-year change.
1 Gary Lineker £1,350,000-1,354,999 (down from £1,360,000-£1,364,999)
2 Zoe Ball £980,000-£984,999 (down from £1,130,000-£1,134,999)
3 Alan Shearer £450,000-£454,999 (up from £390,000-£394,999)
= Steve Wright £450,000-£454,999 (down from £465,000-£469,999)
5 Stephen Nolan £415,000-£419,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999)
6 Fiona Bruce £410,000-£414,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999)
= Huw Edwards £410,000-£414,999 (down from £425,000-£429,999)
8 Vanessa Feltz £400,000-£404,999 (up from £390,000-£394,999)
= Scott Mills £400,000-£404,999 (up from £375,000-£379,999)
10 Greg James £390,000-£394,999 (up from £310,000-£314,999)
11 Ken Bruce £385,000-£389,999 (up from £365,000-£369,999)
12 Lauren Laverne £380,000-£384,999 (down from £395,000-£399,999)
13 Naga Munchetty £365,000-£369,999 (up from £255,000-£259,999)
14 George Alagiah £325,000-£329,999 (no change)
= Emily Maitlis £325,000-£329,999 (no change)
= Amol Rajan £325,000-£329,999 (up from £240,000-£244,999)
17 Sophie Raworth £305,000-£309,999 (up from £280,000-£284,999)
18 Nicky Campbell £295,000-£299,999 (no change)
19 Jeremy Vine £290,000-£294,999 (down from £295,000-£299,999)
20 Jason Mohammad £285,000-£289,999 (up from £270,000-£274,999)
21 Sara Cox £275,000-£279,999 (up from £270,000-£274,999)
= Mishal Husain £275,000-£279,999 (no change)
23 Evan Davis £270,000-£274,999 (no change)
= Nick Robinson £270,000-£274,999 (no change)
25 Andrew Marr £265,000-£269,999 (down from £335,000-£339,999)
= Jo Whiley £265,000-£269,999 (down from £275,000-£279,999)
27 Laura Kuenssberg £260,000-£264,999 (no change)
28 Martha Kearney £255,000-£259,999 (up from £250,000-£254,999)
= Clive Myrie £255,000-£259,999 (up from £205,000-£209,999)
= Justin Webb £255,000-£259,999 (no change)
31 Mark Chapman £250,000-£254,999 (no change)
32 Sarah Montague £245,000-£249,999 (no change)
= Kirsty Wark £245,000-£249,999 (up from £210,000-£214,999)
34 Victoria Derbyshire £240,000-£244,999 (up from £170,000-£174,999)
= Faisal Islam £240,000-£244,999 (up from £205,000-£209,999)
36 Jeremy Bowen £230,000-£234,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
37 Jon Sopel £225,000-£229,999 (down from £230,000-£234,999)
= Michael Vaughan £225,000-£229,999 (up from £175,000-£179,999)
39 Jermaine Jenas £220,000-£224,999 (up from £195,000-£199,999)
= Dan Walker £220,000-£224,999 (down from £295,000-£299,999)
41 Katya Adler £215,000-£219,999 (down from £220,000-£224,999)
= Emma Barnett £215,000-£219,999 (down from £240,000-£244,999)
= Mary Berry £215,000-£219,999 (no change)
44 Fergal Keane £210,000-£214,999 (up from £205,000-£209,999)
= Trevor Nelson £210,000-£214,999 (down from £230,000-£234,999)
46 Clare Balding £205,000-£209,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
= Simon Jack £205,000-£209,999 (up from £190,000-£194,999)
48 Reeta Chakrabarti £200,000-£204,999 (up from £175,000-£179,999)
= Gabby Logan £200,000-£204,999 (up from £165,000-£169,999)
= Micah Richards £200,000-£204,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
= Louis Theroux £200,000-£204,999 (no change)
52 Alex Scott £195,000-£199,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
53 Mark Easton £190,000-£194,999 (no change)
= Sarah Smith £190,000-£194,999 (up from £185,000-£189,999)
= Charlie Stayt £190,000-£194,999 (no change)
56 Sue Barker £185,000-£189,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
57 Rachel Burden £180,000-£184,999 (down from £205,000-£209,999)
= John McEnroe £180,000-£184,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
59 Jonathan Agnew £175,000-£179,999 (no change)
= Stephen Sackur £175,000-£179,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
61 Ben Brown £170,000-£174,999 (no change)
62 Harpreet Bhullar £160,000-£164,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
= Orla Guerin £160,000-£164,999 (no change)
= Colin Murray £160,000-£164,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
65 Clara Amfo £155,000-£159,999 (down from £165,000-£169,999)
= Joanna Gosling £155,000-£159,999 (no change)
= Isa Guha £155,000-£159,999 (up from £150,000-£154,999)
= Chris Sutton £155,000-£159,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
= Claudia Winkleman £155,000-£159,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
70 Nihal Arthanayake £150,000-£154,999 (no change)
= Lyse Doucet £150,000-£154,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
= Steve Lamacq £150,000-£154,999 (down from £155,000-£159,999)
= Tony Livesey £150,000-£154,999 (not listed in 2020/21)
= Carolyn Quinn £150,000-£154,999 (no change)
