The stars you won’t see on the BBC highest salaries list – and why

Broadcaster does not have to disclose salaries of stars whose programmes were made by independent companies

Claudia Winkleman, Graham Norton and Michael McIntyre are among the stars whose salaries will not appear on the BBC’s annual report.

The broadcaster discloses the salaries of talent and executives earning above the £178,000 threshold and has done so for eight years. One again, Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who left the corporation two months ago, has topped the list with a salary of £1.35m.

Well-known stars who could be among the highest-paid talent but will not have their accounts publicly aired include Winkleman, McIntyre, Norton, Bradley Walsh, Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff, Tess Daly and Lord Alan Sugar.

They escape the glare of public scrutiny because of a loophole, which means the BBC does not have to disclose the salaries of stars whose programmes were made by independent companies.

That includes those paid by BBC Studios, the corporation’s commercial company, which produces Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who, among others.

BBC Studios is a commercial organisation in competition with other streaming services like Netflix, BBC itself and other broadcasters. The corporation successfully convinced the government that BBC Studios’ salaries should not be disclosed because the money does not come directly from the licence fee.

The BBC’s first annual report in 2017 put Winkleman as the highest-paid female celebrity, earning between £450,000 and £500,000 for various BBC work, including Strictly, her Radio 2 programme and The Great British Sewing Bee.

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ stars Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are among talent who won’t have salaries listed in the BBC’s report (PA Archive)

Similarly to last year, comedian McIntyre would be near the top of the salaries list if he were to be included, thanks to his hosting duties for both The Wheel and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, per BBC News.

Other stars who would likely top the charts include Gladiators star Bradley Walsh and Eurovision host Graham Norton.

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The broadcaster says sacked MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace would have also featured on a more comprehensive list, alongside his co-star John Torode, thanks to the “huge number” of episodes of the cooking competition they fronted together.

Michael McIntyre hosting ‘The Wheel’ on BBC One (BBC/Hungry McBear/Gary Moyes)

It comes after the BBC apologised to “everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour” this week, as a report upheld 45 misconduct allegations made against the presenter, including one of unwelcome physical contact.

The broadcaster admitted that “opportunities were missed to address” his conduct, stating: “We accept more could and should have been done sooner.

"This behaviour falls below the values of the BBC and the expectations we have for anyone who works with or for us,” a spokesperson said.

John Torode and Gregg Wallace on ‘MasterChef’ (PA Media)

Wallace will no longer work with the BBC, however, a decision on whether his final season of MasterChef will be aired is yet to be made.

You can read the latest update from the Gregg Wallace report here.

Last year, the BBC’s highest-paid star was former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, with a salary of £1.35m.

The presenter has since left the corporation after sharing a social media post that mistakenly included a rat emoji alongside an explanation of Zionism.