Scott Mills topped the BBC’s latest list of highest-paid on-air talent until he was sacked, new figures have revealed.
The former BBC Radio 2 presenter earned between £745,000 and £749,999 for the year ending March 2026, overtaking Gary Lineker to claim the top spot in the corporation’s newly published earnings report.
Mills took over from Zoe Ball in January 2025, hosting Pop: Top 10 shows and various other engagements across public service.
Scott Mills was highest paid BBC star before being sacked
The BBC’s annual report shows that Mills more than doubled his previous year’s earnings, rising from 11th place on the list in 2025.
He was sacked by the BBC shortly before it emerged that the Metropolitan Police had launched an investigation into him in 2016 over allegations of serious sexual offences involving a boy aged under 16 between 1997 and 2000.
Speaking ahead of the report’s release, BBC deputy director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies said there had been "remarkable progress" on reducing presenter salaries.
Mr Davies said: "If you look at all our on-air presenter costs over the last seven years, they’ve come down by about £20 million, so we have been focused on it, there is always a balancing act.
"We want to be a broadcaster that can attract the best talent, but we’re also very mindful of the financial pressures that we’re facing.
"But I think we’re striking that balance very, very carefully, and I think you’ll see that downward trend continuing in the months to come."
Gary Lineker, a long-time fixture at the top of the earnings list, dropped to 15th place in 2026 with earnings of between £325,000 and £329,999.
He left the BBC in May 2025, having earned between £1.35 million and £1.354 million the previous year.
His 2026 earnings came from his work on Match of the Day and other football coverage.
Alan Shearer, the BBC’s Match of the Day pundit and former England footballer, was sixth on the list.
Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC’s political journalist, was the highest-paid woman at the corporation.
She earned between £405,000 and £409,999, placing her fourth overall and joint with Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay.
Greg James, the Radio 1 DJ, was the second-highest-paid individual on the list, earning between £440,000 and £444,999.
Northern Irish radio presenter Stephen Nolan was third, with a salary of between £425,000 and £429,999.
The BBC’s talent salary disclosures only include individuals paid directly from licence fee revenue and do not cover those compensated through independent production companies or BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial arm.
The annual report is a legal requirement and lists all on-air and off-air BBC staff earning more than £178,000 from public funds during the financial year.
The figures come at a time of ongoing debate around value for money and the future of the licence fee.
The BBC has faced criticism over high salaries during a period of financial pressure and wider cuts to services.
Despite the reductions in presenter pay, the broadcaster continues to defend the need to invest in on-air talent to maintain its reputation for quality programming.
Top 10 earners for on-air pay at BBC
This year’s top 10 included four women, up from three the previous year.
Notably absent from the list was former high earner Zoe Ball.
Ball, who was second on last year’s list, is set to join Greatest Hits Radio this September to host an afternoon show.
The list does not include people who are paid through independent production companies or the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Studios.
The full top 10 are:
- Scott Mills £745,000-£749,999 (up from £355,000-£359,999)
- Greg James £440,000-£444,999 (up from £425,000-£429,999)
- Stephen Nolan £425,000-£429,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999)
- Vernon Kay £405,000-£409,999 (up from £390,000-£394,999)
- Laura Kuenssberg £405,000-£409,999 (up from £395,000-£399,999)
- Alan Shearer £390,000-£394,999 (down from £440,000-£444,999)
- Justin Webb £375,000-£379,999 (up from £365,000-£369,999)
- Naga Munchetty £360,000-£364,999 (up from £355,000-£359,999)
- Fiona Bruce £345,000-£349,999 (down from £410,000-£414,999)
- Sophie Raworth £340,000-£344,999 (down from £350,000-£354,999)
What do you think about the earnings? Let us know in the comments.
