Elsewhere, on Newsnight, the BBC’s director of radio and education James Purnell has said that bosses are actively working to close the gender pay gap across the network.

“Quite a lot of men have been taking pay cuts; John Humphreys said that today on air,” he said.

“I’m not going to start negotiating live on air, but that’s clearly one of the levers we can pull, and we have been doing that.”

Culture secretary Karen Bradley has said the publishing of the BBC’s high-earning stars list should have a “deflationary” effect on the salaries of its top male stars.

The BBC has pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2020.

Images: Rex Features

Jodie Whittaker’s salary for Doctor Who revealed after gender pay gap row