BBC’s director general Tim Davie took part in the annual report of the corporation as they released the salaries of its highest paid stars and responded to its coverage over the past year
The annual BBC report was released today as the corporation was quizzed on the highs and lows of the past year. As usual, the salaries of the highest paid stars have been revealed as they have been treated to a huge pay rise.
However, the main focus was on BBC ‘s shows and coverage of live events as well as potential changes to the licence fee. This week, the investigation into former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace was released, with the BBC hit with questions over how they handled the allegations against him.
A report by law firm Lewis Silkin for production company Banijay revealed that 45 out of 83 accusations against Wallace were corroborated. The findings also included two separate claims implicating others, with one involving racist remarks.
Ofcom also confirmed they are investigating the BBC’s documentary ‘Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone’ after it was found to have violated the broadcaster’s editorial guidelines on accuracy.
The BBC faced scrutiny last month over how they handled their Glastonbury coverage, which saw them livestream a performance by punk duo Bob Vylan where they chanted “death to the IDF.”
Follow along as the Mirror brings you all you need to know from the BBC’s annual report…
Zoe Delaney
Nadiya Hussain says she was given ‘no definitive reason’ for BBC show cancellation
Great British Bake Off icon Nadiya Hussain claims she wasn’t given a “definitive reason” for the axing of her BBC programmes. The star, 40, fronted several food series for the BBC since winning GBBO in 2015 – when the show was on BBC1 – including Nadiya Bakes, Nadiya’s Fast Flavours and Nadiya’s Simple Spices.
However, in June, Nadiya revealed in a post shared on social media that BBC bosses had “decided they didn’t want to commission the show any more”, which she described as a “huge turning point”. This week, Nadiya claimed the BBC will “keep you until you’re of no use to them” during a chat with Paul C Brunson in the We Need To Talk podcast. Read her full comments here.
Zoe Delaney
BBC statement in full as John Torode sacked
A BBC spokesperson added that the allegation against Torode “involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace” which was “investigated and substantiated” by the independent investigation led by Lewis Silkin.
They said: “John Torode denies the allegation. He has stated he has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened. He also says that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.
“The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and, as we have already said, we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”
Zoe Delaney
John Torode sacked from MasterChef
MasterChef presenter John Torode will not return to the BBC cooking show after producers Banijay UK confirmed his contract will not be renewed.
A Banijay spokesperson said: “In response to John Torode’s statement, it is important to stress that Banijay UK takes this matter incredibly seriously.
“The legal team at Lewis Silkin that investigated the allegations relating to Gregg Wallace also substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018.
“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint. Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”
Mia O’Hare
John Torode’s MasterChef future ‘in the balance’
MasterChef host John Torode has found himself in the spotlight following the axe of his co-star Gregg Wallace. A review into Wallace revealed that 45 out of 83 accusations against him were corroborated, including two separate claims implicating others, with one involving racist remarks.
Torode outed himself as the accused individual but professed he had “no recollection of the incident” and expressed being “shocked and saddened”.
It’s reported that the BBC and production company Banijay asked Torode to resign and cite mental heath issues as the reason – which he reportedly refused to do.
When asked if Torode must follow Wallace out the door and leave MasterChef, Tim Davie said: “I think people appreciate that I cannot now talk about individuals as we go through the process and Banijay lead the process to take appropriate action on what they found through those upheld complaints.”
“What I would say is there has to be follow up. So the BBC, in some ways, were quite simple on this, which is, if someone has found to not live to the values we expect the independent company Banijay in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done.
“These aren’t BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken. That’s the first thing I’d say. But I can’t comment, and I hope you appreciate this on individual conversations.”
John Torode has been accused of using a racist remark
Mia O’Hare
Glastonbury controversy part of ‘tough period’ for BBC
The BBC came under fire last month as they livestreamed punk duo Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance while they chanted “death to the IDF”. The organisation later expressed regret for not stopping its broadcast of the “unacceptable” set amid backlash from Ofcom and the Prime Minister.
Referencing the scandal in his BBC report, Tim Davie said: “It’s certainly been a tough period, and there are some tough days. I absolutely have had some tough things to deal with over the last few weeks.”
He added: “There’s enormous amounts of noise and different opinions about what we should do, but I think we have been clear we’re making the right decisions. We’re being transparent at what we do, and I think that’s what counts.”
Davie continued: “I think there are moments when you have to do tough things, deal with mistakes and get through it because you want to maintain your standards.”
At the time, the BBC said: “Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive.
“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.
“The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines. In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand.
“The team were dealing with a live situation, but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.”
Bob Vylan were slammed for their chants that aired on the BBC (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
Mia O’Hare
BBC’s Gaza documentary uproar explained
The BBC has admitted their “mistake” over their Gaza documentary that has sparked an Ofcom investigation.
Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was found to have violated the broadcaster’s editorial guidelines on accuracy. The watchdog confirmed that it would be investigating the programme under its Broadcasting Code, which demands factual programmes “must not materially mislead the audience”.
The documentary was pulled from BBCiPlayer in February when it came to light that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the offspring of Ayman Alyazouri, a figure serving as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
The inquiry, led by Peter Johnston, director of editorial complaints and reviews independent from BBC News, concluded the show breached accuracy standards by “failing to disclose information about the child narrator’s father’s position within the Hamas-run government”.
Tim Davie said: “Gaza has been the most challenging editorial issue I have had to deal with but the importance of fair, balanced reporting, the need for high-quality homegrown programming in the face of massive pressure, I think has never been even greater.
“There was a breach of our editorial guidelines, there was no breach on impartiality and no evidence of any outside interest impact on the programme but there was a breach of accuracy, and that is not acceptable, so we are taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated.
“Despite this mistake I do want to credit thousands of people across the BBC for delivering such brave impartial journalism despite immense challenges and very significant personal pressure.
“Personally I remain utterly committed to delivering impartial coverage without fear or favour. It is needed now more than ever in this polarising world.”
He added: “The BBC is not perfect, sometimes we make mistakes but I have never felt more motivated by our mission in this polarised world. I believe that we are needed more than ever, and we are a UK success story that deserves backing.”
Read more here.
Mia O’Hare
BBC News’ latest two highest paid stars revealed
BBC News now has two different highest-paid stars compared to last year following disgraced presenter Huw Edwards’ exit.
Last year, Edwards was the third highest paid BBC star as he got an increase in salary and took home £475,000 (up from £435,000).
Now, his spot has been filled by Fiona Bruce and Nick Robinson, who both earned as much as £415,000 in the year to March 2025, according to the BBC’s report.
Robinson, who fronts Radio 4’s Today show, received a £65,000 pay increase for his work on the UK general election.
Fiona Bruce is among the BBC’s top earners (
Image:
BBC)
KEY EVENT
BBC look at overhauling licence fee
The BBC has confirmed it is looking at overhauling the licence fee as 300,000 households have stopped paying it.
23.8m licences were in force at the end of the year, down from 24.1m in 2023-24. This means a loss of about £50m in revenue for the corporation.
BBC chair Samir Shah says they are looking for “the best future funding model for the BBC”.
“I have already set out some views on this and the board will be saying more over the coming months,” he said. “But all of us are clear that we want to make sure we protect the BBC as a universal service and help it not just to survive, but thrive, for a generation and more.”
The report added: “As we approach the end of the charter, we will proactively research how we might reform the licence fee to secure the benefits of a well-resourced, universal BBC of scale for the long term.”
KEY EVENT
BBC responds to Ofcom probe into Gaza documentary
This week, Ofcom confirmed they are investigating the BBC’s Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary after it was found to have violated the guideline of accuracy.
Tim Davie responded: “There was a breach of our editorial guidelines, there was no breach on impartiality and no evidence of any outside interest impact on the programme.
“But there was a breach of accuracy, and that is not acceptable, so we are taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated.
“Despite this mistake, I do want to credit thousands of people across the BBC for delivering such brave impartial journalism despite immense challenges and very significant personal pressure.
“Personally, I remain utterly committed to delivering impartial coverage without fear or favour. It is needed now more than ever in this polarising world.”
Ofcom previously said: “Having examined the BBC’s findings, we are launching an investigation under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience.”
Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone is being investigated by Ofcom (
Image:
BBC / Amjad Al Fayoumi / Hoyo Films)
Gaza ‘most challenging editorial issue ever faced’
During the report, Tim Davie spoke about the BBC’s documentary about Gaza. Ofcom is set to probe ‘Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone’ after it was found to have violated the broadcaster’s editorial guidelines on accuracy.
The documentary was pulled from BBCiPlayer in February when it came to light that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the offspring of Ayman Alyazouri, a figure serving as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
Davie said: “Gaza has been the most challenging editorial issue I’ve had to deal with, but the importance of fair, balanced reporting, the need for high-quality, homegrown programming in the face of massive pressure, I think, has never, ever been greater. And I believe my leadership and the team I’ve assembled can really help the leadership thrive in that environment, very competitive environment.”
KEY EVENT
‘MasterChef is safe with or without John Torode’
When probed on the future of the hit BBC1 cooking show, Tim Davie responded: “I absolutely think it does. I think a great program that’s well loved by audiences is much bigger than individuals. It absolutely can survive and prosper, but we’ve got to make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show.”
Mia O’Hare
John Torode’s future on MasterChef discussed
When asked if MasterChef host John Torode must follow Gregg Wallace and leave the show, Tim Davie said: “In terms of the report that was done it had very clear learnings.
“I’m sure you’ll have seen the summary that had all the allegations against Greg Wallace. It also had two allegations upheld on two individuals. I think people appreciate that I cannot now talk about individuals as we go through the process and Banijay lead the process to take appropriate action on what they found through those upheld complaints.
“What I would say is there has to be follow up. So the BBC, in some ways, were quite simple on this, which is, if someone has found to not live to the values we expect the independent company Banijay in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done. These aren’t BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken. That’s the first thing I’d say. But I can’t comment, and I hope you appreciate this on individual conversations.”
John Torode is facing claims he used a racist remark (
Image:
BBC)
Mia O’Hare
Staff dismissed after BBC reviewed its workplace culture
During the release of the annual report, BBC chair Samir Shah revealed for the first time that several members of staff had been dismissed as a result of an independent review of workplace culture commissioned by the BBC.
He said: “This is the first time we’re going to say this publicly, several people have been dismissed as a result (of the review). But that, alongside the way the executive responded to the Banijay report into MasterChef yesterday, and I want audiences to feel confident that we are addressing these challenges.
“Finally, at the same time as acknowledging and dealing with the things they’ve gone wrong, the BBC has delivered an outstanding range of content to licence.”
Mia O’Hare
‘No place for inappropriate behaviour’
The BBC’s director-general Tim Davie said there was “no place” for inappropriate behaviour at the corporation in the wake of a series of scandals, adding: “This is a time of transition for the industry, a reset, and the changes we are driving are overdue.”
KEY EVENT
‘MasterChef will continue’
The BBC has promised MasterChef will continue no matter who hosts the cooking show.
Director General Tim Davie insisted: “I absolutely think it does. I think a great programme well loved by audiences is bigger than individuals. It can survive and prosper.”
BBC bosses say MasterChef is ‘bigger than individuals’ (
Image:
BBC/Shine TV)
Mia O’Hare
Tim Davie responds to Bob Vylan row, MasterChef chaos and Gaza reporting
BBC director General Tim Davie insisted he was the right man for the job when asked if he had considered resigning. Quizzed over glastonbury Bob Vylan row, MasterChef chaos and Gaza reporting. Also admitted BBC was in a “tough period”.
He said: “It’s certainly been a tough period, and there are some tough days. And this job is not one you take if you want a quiet life or a stress free existence. So I absolutely have had some, you know, tough things to deal with over the last few weeks.
“I think to answer the question is, I simply think I’m in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way. And I say that for on a number of fronts, firstly, we will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership and myself, I’ve been very clear, and I think we have been decisive.
“There’s enormous amounts of noise and different opinions about what we should do, but I think we have been clear we’re making the right decisions. We’re being transparent at what we do, and I think that’s what counts. I would also say that under my tenure, I’ve set a very clear stall out in terms of impartiality.
“You know, our call it out campaign, making sure we reset the industry around culture. These are not easy choices. I think bluntly, there are easier choices we could make, but by saying that, and by standing for that, I think there are moments when you have to do tough things, deal with mistakes and get through it because you want to maintain your standards.”
Tim Davie addresses MasterChef scandal
Director General Tim Davie gave his opening address on MasterChef. It comes after Gregg Wallace was removed from the position of host and John Torode faces claims of using a racist remark.
He said: “From our side. It’s simple, we’re not going to tolerate behavior that is not in line with our values. The industry needs to change, and we want to lead from the front.
“Myself and the BBC leadership team will not tolerate people who are behaving inappropriately. There is no place in or on the BBC for those who are not prepared to live by our values, whoever they are.”
An investigation was launched into alleged misconduct claims (
Image:
BBC/Shine TV)
Mia O’Hare
BBC Radio 2 pay reveals wide gap
Scott Mills has bagged himself a big payrise after landing the Radio 2 breakfast show – but Zoe Ball was still paid more than him last year.
Other Radio 2 DJ’s on big money include Vernon Kay on £390-394,999 and Sara Cox on £310,000-£314,999. In total there are nine Radio 2 DJs in the BBC top pay list.
RADIO 2 Top 10 Pay list
Zoe Ball £515,000-£519,999
Vernon Kay £390,000-£394,999
Scott Mills £355,000-£394,999
Sara Cox £310,000-£314,999
Jeremy Vine £310,000-314,999
Trevor Nelson £245,000-249,999
Jo Whiley £230,000-£234,999
Owain Wyn Evans £195,000-£199,000
Gary Davies £178,000-£184,999
KEY EVENT
Salaries of the BBC’s biggest stars revealed
The BBC has published the salaries of its highest-paid stars as part of its annual report – with some big changes amongst the top earners.
Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who recently left the corporation was once again the top earner with £1.35m, followed by former Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball who earned £515,000 before she left and was replaced by Scott Mills.
Alan Shearer also earned more than the previous year, as he was covering England at the European Championships which helped him boost his salary to almost half a million pounds.
Radio host and political expert Nick Robinson also earned a bigger salary last year and new Radio 2 host Vernon Kay joins the top 10. Perhaps surprisingly BBC North America Editor Justin Webb also makes the top 10 with a salary of £365,000.
The BBC’s top earners:
- Gary Lineker £1,350,000-£1,354,999 (no change)
- Zoe Ball £515,000-£519,999 (down from £950,000-£954,999)
- Alan Shearer £440,000-445,000 (up from £380,000-£384,999)
- Greg James £425,000-£429,999 (up from £415,000-£419,999)
- Fiona Bruce £410,000-£414,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999) and Nick Robinson £410,000-£414,999 (Up from £345,000 and £349,000)
- Stephen Nolan £405,000-£409,999 (up from £400,000-£404,999)
- Laura Kuenssberg £395,000-£399,999 (up from £325,000-£329,999)
- Vernon Kay £390,000 – £394,999 (joined Radio 2 in May 2023)
- Justin Webb £365,000-£369,999 (up from £320,000-£324,999)
- Naga Munchetty £355,000-£359,999 (up from £345,000-£349,999)
- Scott Mills £355,000-£359,999 (up from £315,000 – £319,999)
The latest BBC salaries have been revealed for its top paid stars
