The BBC has confirmed the dismissal of several staff members following a recent internal review of the corporation’s workplace culture.
However, BBC Chairman Samir Shah acknowledged that some individuals in positions of power continue to create “unbearable” environments for colleagues.
His comments coincide with a crisis surrounding “MasterChef,” as a report released Monday substantiated 45 allegations regarding Gregg Wallace’s behavior on the BBC program, in addition to an allegation of racist language used by co-host John Torode.
The corporation’s annual report, issued Tuesday, revealed that former “Match of the Day” presenter Gary Lineker remained the BBC’s highest-paid presenter for the eighth consecutive year.
Lineker earned between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 during the last financial year, followed by former Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball, who earned between £515,000 and £519,999.
Upon the report’s release, Shah recognized a “string of revelations” concerning abuses of power within the BBC over the past year.
“Our staff are dedicated, hardworking, and treat each other with respect,” he stated.
“However, there are pockets in the organization where this is not the case. There are still places where powerful individuals – on and off-screen – can abuse that power to make life for their colleagues unbearable.”
He confirmed that dismissals had occurred following the review, which concluded in April, but did not disclose the identities of those involved.
Addressing the “MasterChef” situation, BBC Director-General Tim Davie affirmed that the cooking show “absolutely” has a future, emphasizing that it is “much bigger than individuals.”
However, he declined to comment on the fate of unaired episodes filmed last year featuring both Wallace and Torode. Wallace has been terminated from the program.
Davie also withheld comment on whether Torode would face similar action, stating that the production company, Banijay, is leading the process.
“The BBC, in some ways, we’re quite simple on this, which is if someone is found to not live up to the values, we expect the independent company, Banijay in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done.
“These aren’t BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken.”
Wallace issued an apology following the inquiry’s findings on Monday, while Torode stated he had “no recollection” of the alleged incident, adding, “I do not believe that it happened.”
As is typical, the BBC’s annual report does not provide a comprehensive overview of the earnings of all prominent presenters.
A significant number are not listed because the corporation is not obligated to disclose the salaries of those paid through its commercial arm, BBC Studios, or through independent production companies.
Technically, the figures presented in the annual report do not represent “salaries” but rather payments received by individuals within the financial year.
Lineker concluded his final broadcast of “Match of the Day” in May after 26 years. He was initially scheduled to remain with the BBC to cover the men’s FA Cup and the World Cup but ultimately left the corporation completely after apologizing for reposting a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration considered antisemitic.
His salary remained consistent with the previous year, while Zoe Ball’s decreased from £950,000-£954,999, reflecting her transition from the Radio 2 breakfast show to a new role hosting Saturday afternoons on the station.
Lineker’s salary is included in the BBC’s latest annual report due to his recent departure, but he will not be listed in subsequent reports.
Zoe Ball hosted her final Radio 2 breakfast show in December after six years and commenced her new Saturday afternoon program in May.
Elsewhere, Director-General Tim Davie’s salary increased by £20,000 from last year’s £527,000 to £547,000, representing a 3.8% raise.
The BBC’s license fee is determined by the Culture Secretary.
This year, income generated by the license fee increased from £3.7 billion to £3.8 billion after accounting for inflation.
The report noted a decrease in the number of households paying the license fee, from 23,131,000 in 2024 to 22,772,000 in 2025 – a reduction of 359,000.
This represents a decline of 1.56%, compared with last year’s drop of 1.26%.
That number is holding up fairly well, declining less quickly than might be expected given the competition from streaming services.
The report also revealed 50% of UK adults think the BBC is effective at providing impartial news and current affairs, an uptick of 5% on last year’s 45% of those surveyed.
A further 63% of UK adults think the BBC is effective at providing accurate news and current affairs, compared to last year’s 59%.
The number of adults using BBC services weekly last year declined slightly from 75% to 74%, though 70% of under 16s use BBC services including TV, iPlayer, radio and online content on a weekly basis.
Of those platforms, iPlayer is the fastest growing platform for long-form content.
The report also showed that 10 out of 10 of Christmas Day top shows were from the BBC – but that includes King’s speech which is also broadcast on other channels.
The BBC’s annual report follows a series of controversies faced by the corporation, including “MasterChef,” Glastonbury, and the decision to broadcast Bob Vylan’s set.
Earlier this year, a documentary, “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” was removed from iPlayer after it was revealed that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
On Monday, a report concluded the documentary breached editorial guidelines on accuracy.
It stated the BBC bears “some responsibility” for “not being sufficiently proactive” in the early stages of the project, and for a “lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions” – although the report said the independent film company behind it, Hoyo Films, bore the most responsibility for this failure.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who left in May, is still the corporation’s top earner.
Stephen Nolan was the seventh highest paid on-air presenter in 2024-25 on between £405,000 and £409,999.
The licence fee generated £3.8bn for the BBC in 2024-25, 65% of the corporation’s total income.
Bilton School in Rugby apologised after preventing a pupil from making a speech at school while wearing a union jack dress.
BBC culture reporter Noor Nanji takes a look at when the allegations were first made and what’s happened since.