Each year, the BBC shares a list of the top earners and Graham Norton has featured high up on the list. Last year he was reported to earn between £725,000-£729,999 for his weekly show on Radio 2, his chat show and other programmes for the broadcaster. With his move to Virgin Radio, Norton, 57, admitted it will be nice to no longer feature on the list. He has insisted it was actually the stairs at the BBC which prompted his move to Virgin Radio.
Norton joined Mariella Frostrup on Times Radio yesterday, and opened up on his decision to leave his BBC Radio show.
“That show I had been doing it for 10 years and it wasn’t really going to get any bigger and sort of doing it in lockdown had taken a lot of joy out of it,” Norton said.
“And, you know, having to climb six flights of stairs to the studio. It’s like I’m making this up but I’m not. These are genuinely the factors behind my decision.”
After speaking to Chris Evans on his Virgin Radio Breakfast Show, Norton was asked if he too would like to join the broadcaster.
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Graham Norton ‘didn’t like’ being on BBC highest earners list: ‘Everyone was embarrassed’ (Image: BBC • GETTY)
Graham Norton will continue to host his Friday night chat show as he moves to Virgin Radio (Image: BBC)
“I think partly it was the excitement of doing a show across the weekend, Saturdays and Sundays but also it was sort o being my age and somebody wanting me.”
He continued: “It’s amazing how persuasive that is. I’ve doubled my workload.”
“Last Sunday I woke up thinking, ‘Oh I won’t be in bed this time next Sudan,” Norton laughed. “That is going to be a shock to the system doing Saturday and Sunday.”
Frostrup asked: “Graham you mentioned Chris was so happy and Chris is known for his jauntiness but I wondered if it also reflected a sense of the morale was low at the BBC.
Graham Norton is also a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race on the BBC (Image: BBC)
Graham Norton explained he thought the BBC top earners list is 'pointless' (Image: GETTY)
“It’s been quite a difficult year for them, they’ve been in the headlines quite a lot, very difficult year for the top line presenters
