Zoe Ball: shock as salary of Blackpool born presenter is revealed by BBC

Zoe, 52, reportedly is paid up to £984,999 a year by the BBC, second only to Gary Lineker on £1.35 million.

The Blackpool born presenter currently hosts The Radio 2 Breakfast Show, after taking over from Chris Evans in 2019, and also this year hosted a Terry Wogan tribute called ‘Wogan: In His Own Words’.

The news of Zoe’s salary caused quite a stir online...

What have people said?

Many Twitter users expressed dismay at the high figure

@TerryTheParrot: “We have teachers and nurses having to strike just to try and get a fair deal in order to live..and then we have #ZoeBall who is paid £985000pa. There is something seriously wrong somewhere.

@seagull4a: “TV license apart, these salaries make me fume. The way celebrities are put on a pedestal and rewarded for their 'talent' is obscene. It would take me 33 years to 'earn' Zoe Ball's salary and 12 years to match Sophie Raworth's. Don't even get me started on Lineker's…..

"Whether or not they do a good job is not the issue. Their sense of self-worth and entitlement is. Lots of people work hard and do a good job. Many carry huge responsibilities. The HUGE discrepancies in salaries paid to normal people vs celebrities is just obscene.”

@petrolheadtoo: “Why in the name of goodness does Zoe Ball who plays other peoples music on radio deserve such a salary. I have similar opinions re football commentators etc. What a waste of licence fee payers money”

@stewybabe30: “How come Zoe Ball is on so much more than anyone else? Is it just that her agent is that good, or does she have loads of s*** on people from back in the day when she was hanging around her dad as a child?”

Whilst others came to Zoe’s defence

@Braddisms: “Zoe Ball getting a lot of flak for her salary, but I have some sympathy. It's not her fault that the BBC has to massively overpay a woman to close the gender pay gap with Gary Lineker. She just happened to be the lucky woman they picked.”

@kopitedarren: "Funny how the majority of people moaning about Zoe Balls salary appear to be sad white middle aged men. How entirely predictable.

#bbc #zoeball”

@Maria2645: “Can everyone just leave #ZoeBall alone. There are far greater things to worry about.”

@scotin...: “Anyone who's worked with Zoe ball will tell you she f****** deserves every pound”

@Yodasnuts: “#zoeball earns what she earns because she has worked in a high paying industry for 30 years and is excellent at what she does.

Stop being d****.”

Who else is on the list?

These are the ten highest paid presenters at the BBC for 2022-23:

1) Gary Lineker- £1,354,999

2) Zoe Ball- £984,999

3) Alan Shearer- £449,999

4) Huw Edwards- £439,999

5) Stephen Nolan- £404,999

6) Fiona Bruce- £399,999

7) Greg James- £399,999

8) Ken Bruce- £394,999

9) Lauren Laverne- £394,999

10) Sophie Raworth- £369,999

Are there any gaps?

The BBC does not have to make public the salaries of stars who are paid through its commercial arm BBC Studios or independent production companies. Big names such as Graham Norton, Claudia Winkleman, Tess Daly, , Alex Jones and Michael McIntyre, as well as stars from shows such as EastEnders, are noticeably absent.