Jenni Murray describes fury over BBC pay gap between herself and younger stars

Dame Jenni Murray has told of her fury at “younger, less experienced” broadcasters earning significantly more money than her during her time at the BBC.

Dame Jenni, 70, signed off from her final episode of Woman’s Hour on Thursday, after more than three decades in the presenting chair.

Following her departure from the BBC, Dame Jenni has criticised the corporation’s payment structure, pointing out that neither she nor fellow Woman’s Hour presenter Jane Garvey appeared on the recently published list of those earning more than £150,000 a year.

Those who did make the list include breakfast show DJ Zoe Ball. The 49-year-old, who shed a million listeners in her first year on Radio 2, made £1.36 million in 2019/20.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Dame Jenni said it has been “rather more than infuriating to find younger, less experienced presenters earning twice or even three times as much as me, or the long list of executives on six-figure salaries with job titles that seem to have precious little to do with broadcasting”.

The veteran presenter said she did not leave the BBC due to ageism and that she decided to depart a year ago because she wanted to be “free of the leash” that had caused her to be “cancelled”.

Dame Jenni said she was “roundly ticked off” for her comments on transgender issues and told she was not allowed to chair any discussion on the subject.

She also said she was barred from covering the 2019 election due to her opinions on Brexit.

Dame Jenni signed off from Woman’s Hour after 33 years. Ending her broadcast, she told listeners there are “many, many different stereotypes that fit our gender, so there is no one stereotypical woman, but our sex, we share”.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “We wish Jenni well in her new career as a columnist but the public will understand the importance of impartiality whilst working at the BBC.”