Stephen Nolan remains the BBC’s fifth highest paid presenter, the corporation has revealed.
Nolan, who presents BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show alongside BBC NI’s Nolan Live, was paid between £405,000 and £409,999 in 2023/24.
He was previously ranked as the BBC’s fifth highest paid presenter in 2022/23, and his salary remains unchanged from the last report.
The BBC’s annual report lists presenters and staff who receive salaries of over £150,000 paid directly from the licence fee.
The report does not include payments to presenters for other programmes made by independent production companies.
Mr Nolan is director of the production company Third Street Studios, which in April reported net assets of over £1 million.
The company produces Nolan Live alongside Jailed: Inside Maghaberry, both of which air on the BBC.
Mr Nolan is the only BBC Northern Ireland presenter on the list.
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Gary Lineker remains the highest paid presenter and the only on-air talent to receive over £1m in salary – he was paid between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999.
BBC Radio 2 Breakfast host Zoe Ball ranks second with a salary between £950,000 and £954,999.
Huw Edwards, who resigned from the BBC in April on medical grounds following allegations he paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos, is third with a salary of £475,000-£479,999.
Mr Edwards, who fronted the BBC’s reporting of the Queen’s death and funeral, was last on BBC television in July 2023, shortly before allegations appeared in The Sun newspaper and remained off-air since.
A police investigation found no criminal offence had been committed and Mr Edwards’ wife said he had been receiving hospital care.
BBC Radio 1 Breakfast host Greg James is a new entry into the top five highest paid presenters, coming in fourth with a salary of £415,000-419,999.
Then comes Mr Nolan, who is joint fifth with Fiona Bruce.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie’s salary is listed as £525,000-£529,999.
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, has a salary of £470,000-£479,999.
BBC Northern Ireland director Adam Smyth is not on the list, indicating his salary was less than £150,000.
Mr Smyth was appointed director of BBC Northern Ireland in April 2023, replacing Peter Johnston who now heads the BBC’s editorial complaints.
Alongside salaries, the BBC’s annual report examines how the broadcaster is performing across the UK.
It singles out Northern Ireland themed productions, including Once Upon a Time In Northern Ireland as examples of shows which “performed particularly well” across the BBC.
It found around 20% of Northern Ireland’s population watched Blue Lights, the Belfast-set police drama, compared to 9% of the UK as a whole while 86% of Northern Ireland’s population use BBC iPlayer.
Northern Ireland also ranks highest in the amount of adults consuming its BBC regional content a week.
The report found 62% of adults in Northern Ireland consume some part of BBC NI output a week – compared to just 45% in England who consume BBC Local, and 57% in Scotland who consume BBC Scotland and 51% in Wales watching BBC Wales content.
Tim Davie said the report “tells the story of the sustained creative excellence of the BBC, despite a fast-changing media landscape” but that it highlighted the challenges the broadcaster faces.
“It shows that we continue to set the creative standard, offering great content and delivering on our strategy of providing outstanding value for all,” he said.
“While this represents good progress, the market and financial challenges remain significant as we transform the organisation and ensure it remains relevant to audiences in the new on-demand age.”
He said the BBC’s biggest challenge is to “accelerate rapidly” the transformation of the BBC.
“We need to create a leaner, more agile organisation, and make the most of the digital-first opportunity to redesign our processes, cut costs and serve audiences better,” Mr Davie added.
“This year was at times a difficult one for the BBC, and this report highlights the challenges we have had to navigate – whether competitive, financial or in terms of the intense scrutiny we frequently face.
“But it also demonstrates that the BBC remains right at the heart of British national life, as it has been for over 100 years.”