Piers Morgan has said he has “no idea” what his Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid earns, and that he would only worry about it if she was not being paid what she is worth.
The broadcaster has also said that he thinks the BBC has treated women “in a very unfair way” regarding the pay structure at the corporation.
The BBC has recently faced criticism over the gender pay gap, with a number of BBC women hitting out over unequal pay after a report published last year – which revealed the pay for staff on more than £150,000 – showed a gap in the earnings of its best-known male and female presenters and actors.
Morgan told the Press Association of his and Reid’s salaries: “I honestly have no idea what Susanna is paid.
“And it wouldn’t worry me so long as she feels she’s being paid what she’s worth.
“I think that’s the key thing, I think for any presenter on television, for anyone in any workplace, do you feel like you’re getting paid what you’re worth?”
Morgan, who also fronts his ITV series Life Stories and a new one-off documentary called Serial Killer, said that he and Reid “don’t talk about our salaries”.
“Mine’s complicated because I do lots of different shows so it’s probably hard to work out because we get paid for different things,” he said.
“But I don’t think that either of us feel like we’re being underpaid.”
Of the BBC, he said: “The BBC has clearly been treating women in very unfair way in terms of salary and pay structure to the men, and everyone can see that now.
“That should not have been happening with public money – in a way they are like the Government.
“You wouldn’t do it with ministers, so why would you do it with television presenters?”
Morgan urged women to seek more than just equality with men in the workplace, saying that they should ask for even more money if they are worth more than men.
He said: “Why should women just seek equality? I never understood that.
“Why don’t you want more – if you’re better than a man at your job, you should be getting more money, so I would say to anybody at any job, whether it’s television or the military or education or a factory floor, if you think you’re better than the man you should get paid more money.”
The ITV presenter said: “In commercial television, we get paid whatever we deliver… if I didn’t deliver results on any of the shows I do, they wouldn’t be on air, and I wouldn’t be on air.
“It’s a results business, I much prefer that, it’s much easier, you know I don’t have to worry about the public feeling like their money has been squandered on me because it’s not their money.”
Serial Killer With Piers Morgan airs on ITV on Thursday March 1, and Piers Morgan’s Life Stories airs on ITV on Saturday March 3.