July 19 (UPI) -- The BBC has released the salaries for its top stars for the first time, showing that Chris Evans is the highest paid personality on the network.
The English broadcaster earned between $2.87 million and $2.93 million in 2016 and 2017, the BBC reported.
Evans tops the list of highest paid network stars -- ahead of Gary Lineker in second place with $1.67 million to $2.35 million and Graham Norton, who earned $1.1 million to $1.2 million.
The publicly-funded station is transparent with the information under the terms of a new Royal Charter. Of the 96 stars listed, 34 were women -- with only Claudia Winkleman of Strictly Come Dancing fame among the top 10. Winkleman had earnings of $587,000 to $652,000.
The listing details a gender pay gap between female and male stars on the BBC -- with 25 men earning more than $326,000 per year, compared to nine women, CNBC noted.
"On gender and diversity, the BBC is more diverse than the broadcasting industry and the civil service," BBC director-general Tony Hall said in a statement.
"We've made progress, but we recognize there is more to do and we are pushing further and faster than any other broadcaster," he continued about the wage gap before noting, "We will be working carefully on our relationship with our talent," when asked if female talent would now be asking for a pay raise.
The listing excludes talent such as David Attenborough, Benedict Cumberbatch and Matt LeBlanc -- who appear on the network but are paid through independent production companies.
