Lineker and Ball top BBC pay list

Highest earners revealed as boss faces grilling over Strictly controversy

- Robert Dex

THE BBC unveiled its league of top earners — with Gary Lineker again taking first place on about £1.3 million — as it faced increasing pressure over its flagship show Strictly Come Dancing.

Director General Tim Davie was expected to mount a vigorous defence of the hit show today amid the controversy over its treatment of its celebrity contestants.

Its presenters, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, were absent from the corporation’s published accounts as both are paid through production companies which means the BBC is not compelled to publish their salaries. Also missing are key figures on the show such as judges Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke.

One person who is included is Daly’s husband Vernon Kay, who earns between £320,000 and £324,999 for his mid-morning show and Dance Sounds of the 90s on Radio 2. But his pay packet is dwarfed by his Radio 2 colleague Zoe Ball whose Breakfast Show earns her between £950,000 and £954,999.