Just under a third of the names that appeared on the BBC’s list of top earners were women. The highest-paid woman, meanwhile, also earned much less than the best-paid man: compare Claudia Winkleman’s £499,999 salary to that of Chris Evans (more than £2.2million).

Also highlighted as concerning was the fact that not a single person from an ethnic minority background made it into the top 20 earners. Just 10 of the BBC’s 96 highest-paid stars were non-white, something that Lenny Henry condemned as “the dirty secret of what our industry really looks like”.

The ‘class gap’ is another issue, with the vast majority of highly-paid BBC figures coming from wealthy or middle-class backgrounds. Some 45% of the broadcaster’s best-paid stars went to private schools, compared to 7% of the nation overall.

The BBC initially said that it was aiming to close the gender pay gap by 2020. However, the director general, Tony Hall, has now said that he hopes the organisation will “get there earlier… I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity”.

Images: Rex Features

Men earn more so they can support their wife and kids, says BBC actor