Tim Davie admits regret over Gary Lineker affair
Following the recent allegations made against BBC presenter Huw Edwards, the BBC’s Tim Davie, acting chair Dame Elan Closs and director of policy Clare Sumner were questioned in parliament about their response to critical challenges facing the corporation.
During the committee hearing, the BBC officials were grilled over how much some of their top stars earn, specifically former footballer Gary Lineker.
Following their annual report last week, which showed Mr Lineker earned a staggering £1.3million in the last financial year, Lord Young slammed the excessive rate.
He commented: “However good he is, he isn’t the asset… The asset is Match of the Day. I could sell Match of the Day anywhere.
“People think they’re indispensable, Jeremey Clarkson thought he was indispensable, but they’re not, Top Gear goes on.”
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Lord Young highlighted there are other talented people who could do the same job for a lower rate.
He added: “When you’re being scrutinised, it’s really time you took a long hard look at paying such extraordinary rates when there is extraordinary talent out there who would do it for a much lower cost.”
However, Mr Davie hit back claiming the BBC has brought the talent pay down and praised the broadcaster for reducing the pressure on talent.
The BBC boss commented: “I actually don’t agree that anyone can do this.
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“I think broadcasters, someone who has played for England, is of immense value to us.”
Defending some of the top talents within the BBC, Mr Davie stated those paid more than £150,000 deliver around about 40 per cent of their viewing and listening.
He added: “We can continually look for opportunities to offer increased value for money.
“The market is hot for talent who can carry an audience, and I think it’s with investing in at a very limited level.”
As Ms Stephens told MPs a lot of hosts make their roles look easy, Mr Davie joked the BBC could arrange for Lord Young to have a screen test.
Mr Lineker has fronted the flagship football show since 1999 and has become a fan favourite.
Earlier this year, the 62-year-old was briefly suspended from his role on Match of the Day due to his political tweets, which many accused him of breaching the BBC’s impartiality guidelines.
However, his short stint away from the show didn’t go down well with viewers and other BBC hosts as pundit Ian Wright refused to appear on the show.
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