The Prime Minister makes less than £200,000 a year, but according to figures released by the BBC today, BBC TV hosts, presenters and some of its biggest stars earn up to £2 million a year.
A review of BBC salaries was published at 11am today, with details of anyone earning over £150,000, sparking furore from lower paid staff and the public. The total pay for the 96 mentioned names and salaries comes to £30 million.
Chris Evans is the most paid, at £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016/2017, and Claudia Winkleman is the BBC's highest-paid female celebrity, at a salary between £450,000 and £500,000. Match of the Day's Gary Lineker made between £1.75m and £1.8m.
According to the BBC, Lord Tony Hall, 16th BBC Director General said: "No-one would want us to be paying sums where it's not at a discount to the market. People expect us to have great broadcasters, great presenters, great stars but pay them less than they would get in the market."
It is also clear that only a third of the names mentioned are women, implying that BBC male staff are paid more than female staff.
Lord Hall says he intends to close the gender pay gap across UK TV and radio by 2020, and in the last few years 2/3rds of new hires and promotions in TV and radio have been women.
"Is this progress enough? It's absolutely not," he says.
The report also revealed that there is a disparity between the earnings of white stars and those from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background.
License fee payers now have a lot to think about, as well of course as BBC executives.
