Naga Munchetty gets pay rise dwarfing co-host Charlie Stayt amid ‘bully' claims as BBC salaries revealed

The Sun

8 hours ago

BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty received a huge pay rise last year - despite being reprimanded by bosses over bullying allegations.
The BBC's annual report revealed the under-fire presenter 's new £355k salary is now almost double that of her co-host Charlie Styat, who has remained in the £190k bracket.
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The star, 50, received a 10k boost despite finding herself at the centre of a BBC Breakfast toxicity row earlier this year.
Naga, who has presented on the flagship news programme since 2014, has always been paid more than Stayt.
Her pay packet accounts for 180 days of presenting on the Breakfast show, as well as her Radio 5 Live programme and election coverage.
It comes as she was accused of two bullying incidents in three years - including allegedly targeting a junior staffer - and was hauled in by bosses over a sex jibe made at Radio 5 Live.
Key points in the BBC Annual Report
Naga is said to have used a crude slang term for a sex act during an off-air break — before asking a colleague if they had done it.
The alleged remark stunned the Radio 5 Live studio and led to her being hauled before bosses.
She was reprimanded by a senior producer but no formal action was taken.
The BBC Annual report - released today - revealed that Gary Lineker ended his time with the BBC by topping the Corporation's pay league for the eighth consecutive year.
Its salary report showed the ex-Match of the Day host, 64, remained in the £1,350,000 to £1,354,999 bracket before he quit in May following a social media row over a pro-Palestinian video.
Top 10 earners at the BBC
MOTD Star Gary Lineker retained his place as top earner for another year
Gary Lineker - £1.35million
Zoe Ball - £515,000 - cut from £950,000
Alan Shearer - £440,000 - up from £380,000
Greg James - £425,000 - up from £415,000
Fiona Bruce - £410,000 - up from £405,000 AND Nick Robinson - £410,000 - up from £345,000
Stephen Nolan - £405,000
Laura Kuenssberg - £395,000 - up from £325,000
Vernon Kay - £390,000 - up from £320,000
Justin Webb - £365,000 - up from £320,000
Naga Munchetty - £355,000 - up from £345,000
Radio 2 host Zoe Ball, 53, remained the Beeb's second-highest earner despite a significant pay cut when she left the breakfast show,.
She is now in the £515,000 - £519,999 grade, dropping from £950,000 to £954,999.
Other top earners include Alan Shearer on £440k, Greg James on £425k and Fiona Bruce on £410k - all three receiving pay rises.
Nearly 70 per cent of the BBC's top 20 earners received pay rises.
One of the Beeb's former highest-earners, Huw Edwards, does not feature in 24/25's pay disclose list after he left in April 2024 amid an explicit image scandal.
The BBC has not escaped scandal this year, though.
MasterChef's Gregg Wallace, was fired this week for inappropriate conduct.
Wynne Evans was also sacked by BBC Radio Wales after a row on Strictly Come Dancing.
However neither would feature in the publicly-funded BBC's salary dossier, which discloses salaries above £178,000, because they are paid by external production firms or BBC Studios, the corporation's commercial arm.
Many big names, including Claudia Winkleman, Tess Daly, Graham Norton and Bradley Walsh do not feature for the same reason.
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It comes as under-fire Director General Tim Davie received a £15k pay hike despite systemic failure. He took home £540k.
His pay boost comes just weeks after the BBC was forced to issue a grovelling apology for streaming Bob Vylan's "death to IDF" Glastonbury chant.
Meanwhile the number of people paying for a TV licence fell by around 300,000 last year - almost two per cent in all.
Some 23.8m licences are in force, down from 24.1m in 2023/2024.
Scandal-hit BBC boss Tim Davie gets pay RISE to £540k despite Gregg Wallace drama, Glasto coverage & Hamas doc scandal
SCANDAL-HIT BBC boss Tim Davie has been given a sizeable pay rise to earn £544,999 a year.
The broadcaster's annual report shows the Director-General's pay packet swelled by around £15,000 or 2.5% over the past 12 months - despite controversies including those involving Gregg Wallace, Bob Vylan and a Hamas documentary.
The Beeb is required to publish the pay and expenses for all senior leaders earning over £178,000 annually "in the BBC's public services", according to its report.
Davie - who took up his current role in 2020 - was paid an estimated £529,999 in salary and taxable benefits in 2023-24.
Asked by The Sun why Davie had received a £15,000 bonus despite significant failures throughout the year, BBC's chair of the board Dr Samir Shah said: "His pay has been frozen since 2021 and I think that it is reasonable.
"There is little doubt that Tim's pay is significantly under the (going rate).
"If you look at the figures , trust levels have gone up - if you look at the report, the actual performance of the BBC has been exceptional."
He added: "I have no problems with awarding him with what is a very small bonus - which still ends up [with] his salary being significantly lower than any of his peers in the sector."
But because of a hike in cost to £169.50, the BBC says it gathered some £183m more from the fees.
Despite the drop, it said the "vast majority of our audiences remained committed to paying the licence fee".
It comes as The Sun revealed the Beeb asked John Torode to resign from Masterchef after he was accused of racism.
A report upheld 45 of 83 allegations of bad behaviour against his co-host Gregg Wallace, who was axed last week.
The dossier also upheld a complaint that an unnamed person used a racial phrase once several years ago.
Torode confirmed to The Sun it referred to him, but said: 'I have absolutely no recollection of this, and I do not believe that it happened.'
The BBC also told the MasterChef presenter to pretend he had mental health issues after accusing him of racism, it was claimed.
The stunned Aussie, 59, was asked to resign over the weekend after being dragged into the Gregg Wallace scandal.
Shockingly, sources said the BBC and production company Banijay asked John to resign from the beleaguered show last week and claim he had mental health problems — to which he refused.
Torode, who has hosted the BBC1 cooking show with Wallace since 2005, was shocked to be told of the allegation — which did not receive a complaint at the time but had been raised with investigators.
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In a farcical turn of events, the BBC was unable to specify the time or date of the allegation, narrowing it down to '2018 or 2019'.
The Beeb admitted the future of Masterchef was hanging in the balance after the shocking revelations and probes into both hosts.
A total of 45 out of the 83 allegations made against Gregg during his time on the show were substantiated, including one allegation of "unwelcome physical contact".
The corporation said the possibility of Gregg returning to MasterChef was "untenable".
And they also issued a statement on the future of the new series of MasterChef, saying that, at this time, 'we are not going to make a final decision on the broadcast of the series that was filmed last year.'
Earlier this month, the Beeb told how Bob Vylan were assessed as "high risk" before their performance at Glastonbury but were "deemed suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations".
Chairman Samir Shah admitted that the decision to continue streaming the pro-Palestine punk duo following their 'death to the IDF' chant was an "error of judgement".
Singer Bobby Vylan also shouted "from the river to the sea Palestine... will be free" - regarded by Jews as a call for Israel 's elimination.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed cops were investigating the performance, as well as controversial Irish rock group Kneecap, after video and audio footage of their sets had been examined.
The BBC later took down the broadcast on the iPlayer but was criticised for not cutting it off immediately after the anti-Semitic chanting, with the live feed continuing for another 40 minutes.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those who slammed the broadcaster and demanded an explanation for the decision to air the horrifying chant during the performance on the West Holts stage.
n a fresh statement earlier this month, the BBC said: "We fully understand the strength of feeling regarding Bob Vylan's live appearance at Glastonbury on the BBC.
"We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC and want to apologise to our viewers and listeners and in particular the Jewish community."
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