BBC Rich List gets major shakeup as top earners Zoe Ball and Gary Lineker quit

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Following the departures of several major BBC presenters, the broadcaster’s Rich List has also undergone a shakeup, and the identity of the highest-paid star might surprise you.

This week, Zoe Ball announced that she was stepping down from her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show after six years to ‘focus on family’.

The 53-year-old had been second on the Rich List, having taken home a salary of £954,999.

Meanwhile, her replacement, best pal Scott Mills, will reportedly be paid significantly less. He’s currently in 10th place with a pay packet of £319,999.

Gary Lineker confirmed just one day earlier that he was leaving Match of the Day and is joining Ball in shock exits from the Beeb. He’s believed to be handing over the mic at the end of the Premier League season next May.

It’s no secret that Lineker, 63, is at the top of the BBC Rich List, having been their highest-paid star for the past seven years.

In July, the BBC published its annual salary report, which revealed the former England player earned £1,300,000 to £1,354,999 for 2023/2024.

He did reportedly volunteer to take a £350,000 pay cut to continue helming MOTD.

Thirdly, former newsreader Huw Edwards will not be returning to screens after pleading guilty in July to three counts of making indecent images of children by receiving them via chats.

In September, the 63-year-old, who famously reported on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Prior to the scandal, the disgraced broadcaster was one of the richest BBC talents and, in the year ending April 2024, even saw his pay increase from £439,999 to £479,999.

So, after the high-profile exits of some of the BBC’s most affluent employees, there could be a new face topping the Rich List.

Enter Greg James, host of BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show, who takes home £419,999.

James, 38, has been presenting on Radio 1 since 2007 and is undeniably a favourite among listeners, having taken over Breakfast Show duties from Nick Grimshaw in 2018.

Before this, he cemented his popularity when he took over the drivetime slot from Mills in 2012.

He shot up the Rich List this year to become the BBC’s fourth highest-paid star after placing seventh in 2023, with his pay soaring from £399,999.

Alongside his radio hosting duties, James is known for co-hosting the BBC’s cricket podcast Tailenders alongside England cricketer James Anderson and former Maccabees guitarist Felix White.

He’s also a children’s author and has presented coverage for some of music’s biggest events, including Glastonbury, Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and Children in Need concerts.

Sitting behind him on the BBC Rich List is BBC News presenter Fiona Bruce, who is in joint fifth position currently with Radio 5 Live host Stephen Nolan, both of whom earn up to £409,999 apiece.

Meanwhile, Lauren Laverne comes in at sixth with £399,999, making her one of four women in the top 10.

Laverne has hosted Desert Island Discs since 2018 and recently confirmed her return to the studio after sharing her cancer diagnosis in August.

Alan Shearer is seventh on the Rich List, with his pay having decreased from £449,999 to £384,999, while BBC Radio 4’s Today programme presenter Nick Robinson and BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty are behind him after both celebrating increases to £349,999.

Latest figures of BBC earnings show that the majority of stars had pay rises between 2023 and 2024.

One of the largest went to BBC News presenter Reeta Chakrabarti, who received a major increase of around £55,000, as she now earns £274,999.

Ball’s exit from BBC Radio was reportedly seen as an opportunity for salaries to be reassessed, according to an insider.

They told MailOnline: ‘The reality is that the market has changed, and the BBC has changed, and that will be reflected in the deals we do.’

It has also been claimed that BBC bosses believe the days of mega six-figure, and even seven-figure, salaries ought to be over.

Speaking about Ball’s exit and how this will affect the pay of her replacement, Mills, a BBC source said: ‘Scott will get a bump in his salary for taking on the breakfast gig; that’s the flagship role, and it’s very demanding, so he deserves it—but it won’t take him anywhere close to the money Zoe has been getting.

‘The truth is, even though she is very well-liked by the management and a real BBC stalwart, any opportunity to save some serious money has to be snatched these days. This could save something close to half a million quid every year.’

‘Despite having previously taken a pay cut, Zoe’s money had come under renewed scrutiny lately because it’s right up towards the top of the published salaries list—next to the likes of Gary Lineker, who is leaving too,’ they added.

‘She would have been the corporation’s biggest salary if she had outstayed him.’

It’s believed that ‘when Mills starts, his money will be hundreds of thousands of pounds less per year than Ball’s was’.

Consequently, the BBC is ‘pretty pleased that next time they have to report their presenter pay, it will look a lot less excessive.’