Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball has hit the big time and been named as the BBC’s top earner following a mind-blowing £1million pay rise.
The breakfast host, who took home an estimated £1.36million last year, has been awarded the monster raise following backlash over the gender pay gap at the broadcaster.
The Strictly It Takes Two presenter will now take the title of top earner when it comes to the broadcaster’s staff pay packets.
The 49-year-old’s salary soared from £370,000 last year to a minimum of £1.36million.
The pay rise will ensure Zoe receives a higher salary than Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.
Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball has hit the big time and been named as the BBC’s top earner
Lineker has accepted a 23 per cent pay cut to stay on as Match of the Day host for another five years.
He was the Beeb’s top earner during the 2019/2020 tax year with a salary of £1.75million, but the cut will mean he will only take home around £1.35million.
The former England captain has been presenting Match of the Day since 1999, while also fronting BBC coverage of the FA Cup, major football tournaments and their prestigious Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony.
And today the BBC have confirmed he has put pen to paper on a new five-year contract, albeit with a significant reduction in pay.
Zoe took over from Chris Evans in 2018 (Image: BBC/Sarah Jeynes)
The BBC has been under intense scrutiny after several of its stars threatened to quit when it was revealed many of its female employees were being paid far less than their male counterparts.
While the top earners are still mostly male, four of the top 10 are now female.
Fiona Bruce, Vanessa Feltz and Lauren Laverne have all been given significant pay rises, while some of the top earning men have seen their salaries slashed.
Zoe Ball is now the BBC’s top earner (Image: BBC)
News of Zoe’s raise comes just a months after reports she’s lost one million listeners on her Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
Ball took over from Chris Evans brought when he left in 2018.
But figures revealed she had only managed to pull in 8.2million listeners every week in the final quarter of 2019, compared to Chris’ 9.1million before he left.
Despite the drop in listener numbers, Zoe’s salary is now nine times that of the Prime Minister’s.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
