‘Casualty’ actor Derek Thompson is among the surprisingly high-earners at the BBC, a new report has revealed.
On Wednesday (19 July), the BBC’s annual review was published, which for the first time included the salaries of any of the broadcaster’s stars who earn more than £150,000 a year.
And while we weren’t exactly shocked to discover that presenters like Gary Lineker, Graham Norton and Chris Evans were all raking it in, we must admit our eyebrows were raised somewhat when the ‘Casualty’ star’s name cropped up among the wealthiest actors.
Derek - who has starred as Charlie Fairhead in the BBC medical drama since its inception in 1986 - was revealed to be in the hefty £350,000 - £399,999 pay bracket.
His former co-star Amanda Mealing, who played Connie Beauchamp for six years in ‘Casualty’ before making the jump to ‘Holby City’ in 2014, is also among the top-earning performers.
Amanda’s salary lies between £250,000 and £299,999, putting her ahead of some of the BBC’s more high-profile actors, including Danny Dyer and Adam Woodyatt from ‘EastEnders’ and departing ‘Doctor Who’ actor Peter Capaldi.
Other surprises to come from the report included the fact that ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ presenter Claudia Winkleman and ‘It Takes Two’ star Zoe Ball were both earning more than Tess Daly, as well as a disparity between the show’s judges’ earnings.
Prior to the publication of the report, the BBC disclosed that only a third of the names on their top-earning list were women, further highlighting the gender pay gap in the entertainment industry.