BBC salaries still a secret

The report concluding the state of BBC salaries, once again did not reveal any names of any of the best paid performers. So, no one is wiser as to who takes what from the licence-fee that everyone in the UK has to pay in order to watch or listen to the BBC.

BBC salaries have always been a hot topic. Licence-payers, politicians and rival broadcasters have regularly complained that the BBC pays some stars too much, and that its public funding from the licence fee helps push up the market rate.

After a leak of some top star salaries to  newspapers by a BBC employee, the question of how much  some of the big names were getting paid came to the forefront. For example, presenters such as Jonathan Ross were reported to have signed deals worth £18m over 3 years. Ross even joked that he was worth 1,000 BBC journalists. Others on high pay band wagon included Terry Wogan, Jeremy Paxman, Fiona Bruce, Graham Norton and BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles.

Therefore, the report, instigated by the BBC Trust was commissioned, requesting economists to take a long hard look at what the BBC actually pays its stars, and what licence-payers and broadcasting experts think of its performance.

The report, which runs to 140 pages and appendices, however, does not state any details as expected. Sir Michael Lyons, the BBC Trust's chairman, said that to reveal such figures - when commercial channels do not - would make it harder forthe BBC to attract top talent. Not only do most stars want to keep the details confidential, he said,but in any negotiation the BBC would be at a severe disadvantage if it had to reveal what it paid all its performers.

The report says that the very top talent - the top 30 to 40 stars across TV and radio - each earn over £1m a year in appearance and contribution fees.It says the top ten can earn well over £2m and in some cases stars get paid less than they would elsewhere.

So, basically, even after such a report there is no real evidence of which stars are paid the most by the BBC and who are the 'real' top talent at the beeb.