Post by Teddy Bear on May 8, 2012 0:28:47 GMT
What justification there is to pay Graham Norton over £2 million in a year is beyond me, unless they need an excuse for why they can't find real talent, so they'll spend more on what little they have already.
So much for BBC cuts! Norton's pay soars 40% as he makes more than £2m in presenter fees
BBC star Graham Norton’s pay soared by 40 per cent last year – despite the corporation pledging to slash the amount it spends on celebrity presenters.
Companies House accounts for Norton’s production firm So Television reveal he earned £2.15million in ‘presenter and production fees and royalties’ for the 12 months to August last year.
This compares with the £1.54million he was paid in such fees for the same period in 2009-10.
He received a further £400,000 dividend from the company, which makes programmes including his BBC1 series The Graham Norton Show, taking his total earnings to £2.55million – compared with around £2million he received for the year to July 31, 2010.
A senior BBC source insisted that any increase in pay from the corporation was because The Graham Norton Show had been moved to a coveted Friday night slot in autumn 2010, with a longer series run of 20 episodes.
It was previously shown on Monday nights on BBC1, and prior to that on Thursdays on BBC2, with a run of up to 13 episodes.
Norton also presents a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2.
He agreed to take a pay cut when he renewed his deal with the BBC in October last year and it was estimated that his annual pay was £2million.
He said in a recent interview: ‘Will I take a pay cut? Absolutely. The cutbacks at the BBC are across the board, which is how it should be.’
The BBC has insisted it is operating in an era of austerity and is curbing talent pay. Most stars have seen pay packets cut by 20 per cent or agreed to an increased workload for similar money.
But the corporation’s 2011 annual report showed it paid £22million to 19 stars – only £3.8million less than the pay bill for 2009-10.
The BBC refuses to identify how much individual stars earn.
BBC star Graham Norton’s pay soared by 40 per cent last year – despite the corporation pledging to slash the amount it spends on celebrity presenters.
Companies House accounts for Norton’s production firm So Television reveal he earned £2.15million in ‘presenter and production fees and royalties’ for the 12 months to August last year.
This compares with the £1.54million he was paid in such fees for the same period in 2009-10.
He received a further £400,000 dividend from the company, which makes programmes including his BBC1 series The Graham Norton Show, taking his total earnings to £2.55million – compared with around £2million he received for the year to July 31, 2010.
A senior BBC source insisted that any increase in pay from the corporation was because The Graham Norton Show had been moved to a coveted Friday night slot in autumn 2010, with a longer series run of 20 episodes.
It was previously shown on Monday nights on BBC1, and prior to that on Thursdays on BBC2, with a run of up to 13 episodes.
Norton also presents a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2.
He agreed to take a pay cut when he renewed his deal with the BBC in October last year and it was estimated that his annual pay was £2million.
He said in a recent interview: ‘Will I take a pay cut? Absolutely. The cutbacks at the BBC are across the board, which is how it should be.’
The BBC has insisted it is operating in an era of austerity and is curbing talent pay. Most stars have seen pay packets cut by 20 per cent or agreed to an increased workload for similar money.
But the corporation’s 2011 annual report showed it paid £22million to 19 stars – only £3.8million less than the pay bill for 2009-10.
The BBC refuses to identify how much individual stars earn.
