BBC gender pay gap is down to talent says male Radio 2 boss

'Gender, sexuality or ethnic origin – it’s totally irrelevant. What’s important is the talent, and they’re paid according to that,' he said

Six of the stations top-earning stars are men, including Jeremy Vine, on up to £750,000 and Steve Wright on up to £550,000 (Getty)

Differences in pay at the BBC only reflect differences in talent, according to the boss of Radio 2, Lewis Carnie.

His comments came shortly after the BBC revealed men are paid 9.3 per cent more than women across the corporation, both on and off air.

The gap between the top stars is far wider, with top-earning man, Chris Evans, collecting between £2.2m and £2.25m while its top-earning woman, Claudia Winkleman, made between £450,000 and £500,000 last year.

Despite this, Mr Carnie told the Evening Standard: “In our case at Radio 2, there is no gender pay gap. No one’s comparing like with like.”

“That misleads the entire situation. On a per-show basis, it [the pay gap] doesn’t exist.

"We wouldn't care what anybody is - gender, sexuality or ethnic origin – it’s totally irrelevant. What’s important is the talent, and they’re paid according to that."

He added that, "the idea that gender in any way would reflect what anyone is paid here at Radio 2 is ludicrous".

Six of the station's nine top-earning stars are men, including Jeremy Vine, on up to £750,000 and Steve Wright on up to £550,000. Radio 2’s top-earning woman is Ms Winkleman, but much of her salary is for presenting Strictly Come Dancing.

Despite the disparity, Mr Carnie insisted that Radio 2 had “a lot of female stars”, including Zoe Ball, Clare Balding and Elaine Paige. “They are paid in line or higher than many of the male presenters,” he said.

Responding to Mr Carnie's comments, Woman's Hour presenter Jane Garvey tweeted: “There’s no gender pay gap at Radio 2, so that’s all right then. And a daily line-up of white middle-aged men. That must be all right too.”

The BBC was forced to publish the salaries of all of its presenters and actors who earn more that £150,000 earlier this year. Two thirds of those on the list were men.

However, a review into BBC pay published this week found no "systemic" gender discrimination in the organisation.