BBC forced to publish names and salaries of its highest‑earning actors and presenters

The BBC has been forced to publish the names and salaries of its highest‑earning actors and presenters, unleashing a debate in the UK about fame, gender, race and the use of taxpayers' money.

The list shows that the BBC pays 96 on‑air personalities at least £150,000 a year ‑ more than Britain's prime minister. The broadcaster's best‑paid star, radio host Chris Evans, earns more than £2.2 million.

The BBC was compelled by Britain's government to publish the salaries of on‑air talent, which had previously been secret. The information is sensitive because the BBC is funded directly by taxpayers, through a £147 annual levy on every household that owns a television or watches the BBC online.

The figures expose a gender pay gap at the top of the BBC.

Two‑thirds of the top earners are men, and the highest‑paid woman ‑ Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman ‑ earns less than a quarter of Evans' salary. News anchor Huw Edwards is paid over £550,000, some £200,000 more than Fiona Bruce, who does much the same job.

The highest earners are also largely white. No ethnic‑minority star is paid more than £300,000 a year.