New figures released by the BBC have revealed the top salaries of their stars, with disgraced Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills doubling his salary to £750,000 before his shock sacking12:00, 14 Jul 2026Updated 12:07, 14 Jul 2026Disgraced radio DJ Scott Mills doubled his salary last year to £750,000 before his shock sacking by the BBC in March, new figures have revealed.‌The BBC today revealed its annual report for 2025/26, which contains the salaries of its top talent. And it showed that after being made the new Radio 2 breakfast host at the start of last year, Mills’ salary jumped up from £355,000-£359,999 to a whopping £745,000-£749,999.‌However, the new pay packet did not last long and The Mirror was first to reveal Mills had been axed by bosses over his “personal conduct” involving a historic relationship, after the BBC learned the alleged victim in a 2017 police investigation had been under 16. Mills had taken over the breakfast show in January 2025.‌Elsewhere in the list of BBC talent pay, Radio 1’s Greg James has seen his pay rise by at least £10k to £440,000-£444,999 from last year, when he got between £425,000 and £429,999. Stephen Nolan, who hosts a number of shows in Northern Ireland has seen his pay rise £20,000 to be the third highest earner behind Mills on £425,000-£429,999.Political presenter Laura Kuenssberg is the highest paid woman on the list and enjoyed a £10,000 rise and is now on £405,000-£409,999 which is the same salary band as Radio 2 DJ Vernon Kay, who has seen his pay rise by £15,000. But his pay is likely to eclipsed next year by that of new presenter Sara Cox, who has recently taken over as the Radio 2 breakfast show host.‌Match Of The Day pundit Alan Shearer’s pay has dropped by £50,000 to £390,000-£394,999 but he is still fifth highest paid talent at the BBC. Other big earners include the BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty and Antiques Roadshow host Fiona Bruce.A number of big names are not on the list including Claudia Winkleman, David Mitchell and Rob Brydon. The BBC does not have to disclose the salaries of stars who are paid through production companies like BBC Studios, which is classed as a commercial entity.‌Gary Lineker, who left the BBC a few months into the financial year at the end of the football season in May 2025, still managed to earn £325,000-£329,999 in his final months. He was previously the highest paid presenter on £1.35m a year.For the past year the BBC was the only UK brand to make the top five most-used media services by young people and also remained the world’s most trusted provider of international news, with a global weekly reach of half a billion.But after scandals involving big name presenters including newsreader Huw Edwards, Radio 2 breakfast show host Scott Mills, MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace and former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood, the report conceded more effort needed to be made to “strengthen trust” with the public.‌BBC salaries top 101) Scott Mills £745,000-£749,999‌2) Greg James £440,000-£444,9993) Stephen Nolan £425,000-£429,9994) = Laura Kuenssberg £405,000-£409,999‌4) = Vernon Kay £405,000-£409,9996) Alan Shearer £390,000-£394,9997) Justin Webb £375,000-£379,999‌8) Naga Munchetty £360,000-£364,9999) Fiona Bruce £345,000-£349,99910) Sophie Raworth £340,000-£344,999‌In the past year, BBC News has faced particular editorial criticism involving calls of systemic bias, misleading editing, and misquoting of political figures including Donald Trump and Nigel Farage.The report said: “While the BBC remains most used for news in the UK, trust in news providers including the BBC is under pressure. Perceptions for impartiality and accuracy have decreased, reflecting the impact of high-profile editorial issues during 2025/26.”One measure already taken is the appointment of Rhodri Talfan-Davies as Deputy Director-General, who has been given responsibility for safeguarding trust and shaping editorial strategy.‌The BBC said its whistleblowing campaign against harassment and bullying in the workplace was working after it made “a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards” in recent years. Formal bullying and harassment cases have increased, a trend expected following the rollout of the Call It Out campaign.The BBC said that one of its biggest problems going forward was replacing the licence fee with a more modern way of funding the Corporations services. Currently 94% of adults in the UK use the BBC each month - but less than 80% of households (23.3million) have a licence fee.BBC Chair Samir Shah said: “This report sets out in detail the considerable pressures now faced by the BBC – not least the question of future funding. When 94% of adults use the BBC per month yet fewer than 80% of households contribute, it tells you the current funding model cannot maintain the BBC’s public service mission.‌"The new Charter must ensure that the BBC can continue to be a universal public service media organisation of scale. We have to remember that the BBC is, and always has been, so much more than simply a broadcaster. It is a fundamental public good."New BBC director general Matt Britain said he was confident that a workable solution could be found. BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said: “This is a moment of real jeopardy, not just for the BBC but for public service broadcasting and the UK as a whole."I believe the case for BBC has never been stronger: public service, economic impact, UK sovereignty and values. Our mission has never been more needed. So reinventing the BBC to fulfil that mission in a fast-changing world is our duty and our challenge.”Article continues belowThe annual report showed that staff headcount at the BBC has reduced by 10% since 2020, which equates to 2,200 posts. Bosses said that £1.5bn of savings have been made during the current charter period, which ends on December 31 2027.Asked about talent pay and so many earning over £200,000, BBC Deputy Director General Rhodri Talfan Davies said: “We have been focused on presenter pay for some time and if you look over the course of the last six or severn years, there’s been remarkable progress. I think if you look at top talent pay above the £500,000 mark, that has fallen by over 50% in the last seven years. If you look at our on air presenter costs over the last seven years, they come down about £20 million. So we have been focused on it.”Like this s tory? F or more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .