Fiona Bruce is disappointed but not surprised by BBC gender pay gap
The BBC news broadcaster and Antiques Roadshow presenter says she is waiting to see whether the BBC can "get its house in order"
BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce says she was "disappointed" by the revelations over the BBC's gender pay gap – but not surprised.
Speaking to Radio Times magazine to mark 40 years of Antiques Roadshow, the broadcaster said she is waiting to see how the BBC attempts to correct the disparity over gender pay, revealed after the Corporation was forced to publish the salaries of all its stars earning over £150,000.
"The salary list spoke for itself," Bruce said in an interview published in this week's Radio Times. "I know the Prime Minister felt the BBC needed to get its house in order."
"I wasn't taken aback. I was disappointed," she added. The BBC is trying to get its house in order. Let's see what comes out."
The BBC salary publication revealed that Bruce is paid between £35,000 and £399,000. Her BBC News colleague Huw Edwards is paid £550,000 to £599,000.
The list showed that just a third of the 96 on-screen stars earning over £150,000 a year were women; the top seven earners at the BBC were all men.
In September, some of the BBC's top female stars applied further pressure on director general Tony Hall, demanding that "meaningful data" be revealed in order to “rectify injustices before the end of the year”.
Stars including Clare Balding, Newsnight’s Kirsty Wark, and Woman’s Hour presenter Jane Garvey lent their support to the statement.
Hall has already pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2020, but the statement urged the Corporation to act faster and act as a "standard bearer" for the rest of the media industry.
Bruce will once again present Antiques Roadshow this Sunday at 8pm on BBC1. Read the full interview with her in this week's Radio Times Antiques Roadshow anniversary special, in shops from Tuesday 3rd October.
