BBC cuts top stars' salaries - but more staff earn over £100,000

THE number of BBC employees earning more than £100,000-a-year has increased, according to the Corporation's accounts published yesterday.

The BBC paid 274 people six-figure salaries in 2010-11, an increase from the 270 employees paid over 100,000 the year before.

The increase came to light just a week after BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said licence fee payers did not "expect the BBC to pay sky-high commercial rewards to people that work for a public service".

There was, however, a decrease in the number of "stars" making it into the very highest BBC income bracket. This year there were 19 people earning between 500,000 and 5 million who were paid a total of around 22m.

This compared with the 26m, paid out to 21 people the year before. BBC executives refused to be drawn on individual cases but it is believed the loss of Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley to ITV accounted for around 2m in savings from the talent bill.

The report did not identify high-earning individuals for legal and commercial reasons.

Lord Patten argued further disclosure might drive people to work for independents, which do not have to publish pay, rather than work directly for the BBC.

The BBC's overheads rose from 406.3m in 2010 to 421m in 2011. Director-general Mark Thompson, whose salary has been cut from 838,000 to 671,000, said the rise was partly down to being in "the middle of major structural change" including the move to Media City in Salford and redevelopment of Broadcasting House in London.