Tonight:
5°c
Ross and Wogan escape pay cuts
Ellen Widdup28 Jan 2009
THE salaries of BBC stars will not be hit by the company pay freeze and the axing of bonuses, the corporation confirmed today.
Jonathan Ross, who earns £6million a year, Chris Moyles who is paid £630,000 and BBC Radio 2 presenter Terry Wogan, who has an annual pay packet of £800,000 a year, are among 20,000 employees who will avoid the cuts, aimed at saving the BBC £20million.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said today: "Our talent sign a contract at the BBC and that doesn't fluctuate through their period of working."
The BBC announced yesterday that 400 senior executives would be among those affected by the pay freeze which will also see bonuses scrapped "until further notice". Traditionally, senior BBC managers qualify for a bonus worth 10 per cent of their salary if they meet their targets.
The BBC's executive management board - including director-general Mark Thompson - have already forgone their bonuses for this year.
Reader views (4)
I'd much rather listen to Wossy than Wogan... And I don't understand this obsession with other people's pay packets. Sounds like sour grapes to me. If you're not satisfied with how much you're being paid, work more or demand more!
- Charlie, Soho, 28/01/2009 13:05
Report abuse
I cannot see how Jonathon Ross can be worth 7.5 times Terry Wogan.
Wogan has become an institution and his impish wit has had listeners laughing for years without giving offence. Ross on the other hand returned from a three month period of suspension and immediately made a joke in the worst possible taste about a woman with Alzheimer's disease.
The BBC needs to look closer at the worth of its presenters and at the contracts into which it enters with them.
- Martin Fielding, London, England, 28/01/2009 12:12
Report abuse
That's handy for the BBC "stars" - however would they have managed, like most of us who will have to coz we are not gettting a payrise this year....
- Jane, Sussex, 28/01/2009 12:10
Report abuse
Ross is again referred to as being an "employee" of the BBC but I thought the only contract was with his production company and not him personally. Any such contract would not therefore be capable of being varied without consent. Can anyone clarify this?
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, England, 28/01/2009 11:42
Report abuse
