Industry | 2009.06.12
BBC stars' pay 'not enough', says producer
Graham Norton\'s business partner, Graham Stuart, warns BBC that whole TV industry depends on \'a few very talented people\'
Graham Norton\'s business partner, Graham Stuart, has responded defiantly to the BBC\'s plan to cut star salaries, insisting "they are not paid enough".
Stuart, co-owner with Norton of the independent producer So Television, which makes The Graham Norton Show for the BBC, said it was the talent that helped keep many others in the UK production industry in employment.
He was responding to MediaGuardian.co.uk\'s revelation that BBC executives told a meeting of about 100 of the corporation\'s top TV and radio stars earlier this week to expect pay cuts of 25% – and in some cases up to 40% – when their contracts come up for renewal.
Stuart disagreed, saying the wrong people are being asked to take a pay cut. "As a producer who has worked in this industry for a long time, including in the teeth of recessions, I say it\'s the opposite, that the pay for the stars is incorrect. They are not paid enough.
"Remember, the entire television industry is based, squarely, on the shoulders of a very few talented people with special skills and with longevity. I say cutting their pay is a major mistake.
"People should remember how long a road Graham has been on, the amount of business he\'s generated since the mid-1990s, and how many people\'s employment depends on the success of his shows, which sell over the world. When we\'re in production we have about 60 experienced people working on the show."
Norton is in the middle of contract negotiations with the BBC and has said publicly that he is willing to take a pay cut.
He told the Daily Mirror last month : "I would take a pay cut to stay at the BBC. No one is immune from the credit crunch. I am very fortunate in that I am well paid to do jobs that I love."
Norton\'s chatshow is due to move to Monday evenings on BBC1 in the autumn. The current contract is for 26 programmes a year, costing £150,000 to make, totalling £3.9m, but with Norton\'s fee added on top of that.
The former Channel 4 presenter is increasingly being propelled into the mainstream by the BBC, being handed the Eurovision Song Contest this year after Sir Terry Wogan stepped down; hosting the 2009 TV Baftas; and taking on the new BBC1 entertainment show Totally Saturday.
Some believe that Norton\'s new contract will, effectively, take account of this extra work, and therefore result in little actual change in his pay.
Some of the talent being targeted for pay cuts believe that the BBC is playing a political game, pretending to be strapped for cash. Others think the cost-cutting would be more fairly directed at layers of BBC executives.
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