The BBC has published its annual list of earners from their on-air talent, with four earning over £150,000 a year. Of the Welsh highest-paid stars, newsreader Huw Edwards is also in the top 10 of overall earners at the corporation.
Every year the BBC publishes a list of salaries for their on-air employees who earn over £150,000. Sports presenter Gary Linker is still the corporation's overall highest earner by far for the sixth year running, with a salary of between £1,350,000-1,354,999 (no change from last year). The pundit and former footballer was paid for work including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year and is the only person to earn over £1m a year.
Some presenters, like Graham Norton and Alex Jones, are not included because their shows are produced by BBC Studios, a commercial company. This includes stars in other high profile shows like EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing and Top Gear. Of the top 10 earners, four were women; Zoe Ball, Fiona Bruce and Lauren Laverne and Sophie Raworth.
The annual report comes out at a time when the BBC is in the midst of a controversy concerning one of its 'household names'. A BBC presenter accused of paying a teenager £35,000 for explicit images has been suspended. The news of the BBC presenter's alleged actions was first exposed by The Sun newspaper, which claimed that a male presenter first received images from the teenager when the teenager was 17.
The young person at the centre of the controversy said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed presenter, however their mother, who initially spoke to The Sun, reportedly stands by the claims
BBC News said it does know the identity of the young person and has not spoken to them directly, but that the letter was sent by a multinational law firm. Police said they are carrying out further inquiries to establish whether any crime has been committed after BBC representatives spoke with detectives on Monday morning.
Of list of people who earn over £150,000 announced on Tuesday, July 11 2023, there are four Welsh stars on the list. These are the Welsh on-air talents who make more than £150,000 at the BBC
Huw Edwards
News and TV presenter Huw Edwards is one of the highest paid stars at the BBC, featuring fourth on the list - up from sixth last year - earning a hefty sum of £435,000-£439,999 a year. Perhaps best-known for presenting the News at Ten, he also regularly fronts election coverage, Royal coverage and shows on Welsh history.
Salary: £435,000-£439,999 (up from £410,000-£414,999)
Jason Mohammad
Mohammad, the face of the BBC's Final Score programme, earned a salary of between £255,000-£259,999, down from the £285,000-£289,999 he received the year before. The Cardiff City fan also has his own BBC Radio Wales show and is a regular presenter on snooker, as well as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. He is the 30th-highest earner for the BBC in the list of on-air talent, dropping 10 spots.
Salary: £255,000-£259,999 (down from £285,000-£289,999)
Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan has long been known for reporting on sport for the BBC. Her dedication to sports reporting has included covering events like the Athletics, FIFA World Cup and Rugby Autumn internationals.
She is the daughter of former Welsh international football coach Terry Yorath. Gabby is joint 32th on the overall list and has received a pay rise since last year. Last year she was 48th from the highest earners.
Salary: £240,000-£244,999 (up from £200,000-£204,999)
Jeremy Bowen
The Cardiff born reporter has nearly three decades of experience reporting from war zones for the BBC. Last year he reported from the frontline in Ukraine which saw him taking cover from the shelling going on around him as he reported on families' desperate plight to flee the under-fire town of Irpin. His salary remains the same as last year and is 35th on the list.
Salary: £230,000-£234,999 (no change)
One other Welsh figure on the list is Rhodri Talfan Davies, who is director of nations and sits on the BBC's executive committee. He earned a total pay and pensions package of £327,000 last year according to the annual accounts, a rise on £307,000 a year earlier.
